WASHINGTON, DC - House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Democrat Howard Berman urged the State Department today to rally a joint protest of NATO allies against Azerbaijan and to block that country’s participation in NATO Partnership for Peace initiatives in response to the Aliyev government’s recent pardon and promotion of convicted axe-murderer Ramil Safarov, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

In a strongly worded letter sent earlier today to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rep. Berman acknowledged the strong Obama Administration condemnation of Azerbaijan’s release of Safarov, but added, “in my view, however, the abhorrent nature of this pardon, as well as the gruesome nature of the original crime and the context in which it occurred, demands something more. It demands a strong and meaningful response.”

Berman went on to outline concrete actions that the State Department can undertake including:

-- arranging for a joint protest to President Aliyev by all members of NATO

-- calling on NATO to suspend Azerbaijan from all participation in PfP events unless and until Aliyev rescinds the pardon and promotion and re-incarcerates the killer, or returns him to Hungary, to serve the remainder of his life sentence.

-- immediately halting all military assistance and arms transfers to Azerbaijan.

 “Rep. Berman is on the mark with his calls for cutting all U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan and demanding concrete steps to confront the Aliyev regime’s grave threats to peace," stated ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.  “The pardon, promotion and praise of a convicted axe-murderer, and the ongoing ceasefire violations – that took the life of an Armenian soldier just this week – proves, once again, Azerbaijan’s utter disregard for the peace process.  Selling arms to Aliyev's army would only threaten an already fragile ceasefire.”