87 Members of Congress Sign Assembly Supported Letter to Secretary Rubio

Washington, D.C. - Eighty-seven Members of Congress signed an Armenian Assembly supported bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding the fundamental right of return for Artsakh Armenians.

Spearheaded by Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ), the bipartisan letter welcomed Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which confirmed “U.S. support for a peace process that averts the risk of escalation by Azerbaijan and ensures the release of all arbitrarily detained Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives,” the letter specifically encouraged the Secretary to “address the issue of a collective and protected return of Armenians to Nagorno Karabakh.”

“We commend Congressman Pallone for spearheading this bipartisan initiative, along with Armenian Caucus Leaders Gus Bilirakis, Brad Sherman, and David Valadao,” stated Armenian Assembly Congressional Relations Director Mariam Khaloyan. “We also thank the participants of the Knights and Daughters of Vartan who spent a day on the Hill with the Armenian Assembly urging support for this letter. Together, we made an important impact,” Khaloyan concluded.

The letter to Secretary of State Rubio encouraged “the Administration to actively engage with international partners and multilateral institutions to facilitate the return of Armenians to Nagorno Karabakh,” including “through diplomatic support for a recent measure adopted by the Swiss Parliament …which would establish an international negotiation platform to mediate a safe, secure and internationally guaranteed return of Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh.”

In addition, the letter highlighted the Final Statement of the International Conference on the Preservation of Armenian Religious, Cultural, and Historical Heritage in Nagorno Karabakh held under the auspices of the World Council of Churches on May 27-28, 2025, in Bern, Switzerland. The Statement urged “governments and international bodies, particularly Switzerland where we are meeting today, to take diplomatic and legal steps based on OSCE and other conventions to prevent further erasure of Armenian cultural heritage, support the return of the people to their land and to work actively towards the liberation of the Armenian hostages in Baku.”

The letter concluded by encouraging the Secretary to “engage all parties in this unresolved conflict to ensure the collective, protected, and dignified return of forcibly displaced Armenians to their indigenous homeland of Nagorno Karabakh,” and further noted that “taking this action is in direct accordance with international law and in pursuit of a just and lasting peace in the region.”

The letter was cosigned by Reps. Nanette Barragán (D-CA), Ami Bera (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Gil Cisneros (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Vince Fong (R-CA), Laura Friedman (D-CA), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Young Kim (R-CA), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Mike Levin (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Dave Min (D-CA), Kevin Mullin (D-CA), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Scott Peters (D-CA), Luz Rivas (D-CA), Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Lateefah Simon (D-CA), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Mike Thompson (D-CA), David Valadao (R-CA), George Whitesides (D-CA), John Larson (D-CT), Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Sarah McBride (D-DE), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Nikema Williams (D-GA), Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), Sean Casten (D-IL), Danny Davis (D-IL), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Delia Ramirez (D-IL), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Andre Carson (D-IN), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Lori Trahan (D-MA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Shri Thanedar (D-MI), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Wesley Bell (D-MO), Valerie Foushee (D-NC), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Rob Menendez (D-NJ), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Steven Horsford (D-NV), Susie Lee (D-NV), Dina Titus (D-NV), Dan Goldman (D-NY), Nick LaLota (R-NY), George Latimer (D-NY), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Grace Meng (D-NY), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), David Taylor (R-OH), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Gabe Amo (D-RI), Seth Magaziner (D-RI), Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN), Don Beyer (D-VA), Greg Casar (D-TX), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), and Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX).

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a strictly non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

NR# 2025-32

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