The United States and the international community need to vigorously intervene to maintain the peace to end the blockade of the Lachin corridor. Democratic Party Congressman Adam Schiff, the co-chair of the US Congressional Armenian Issues Caucus, stated this in an interview with NEWS.am.

“I've long championed recognition of the Armenian genocide. I carried the resolution to recognize the genocide for around 20 years, until we finally passed it some years ago by an overwhelming bipartisan vote in the House and a similar resolution passed in the Senate.

“And I was very proud that President Biden broke decades of shameful silence and also becoming the first sitting US President to recognize the genocide. The resolution and the recognition have a very important contemporary significance because acts of genocide are going on now. There's an effort by Azerbaijan and by Turkey to pick up where the genocide left off with unprovoked acts of war against Armenia and Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)]. I think the United States and the international community need to vigorously intervene to maintain the peace to end the blockade of the Lachin corridor,” Schiff said.

The US lawmaker noted that he introduced a resolution to the Congress toward recognizing the independence of Artsakh.

“I'd like to see the United States now working to recognize an independent Artsakh. I think that would provide a greater measure of security and support against this continuing belligerence from Baku. (…) They are trying to amp up the pressure and essentially starve out the people of Artsakh, to deprive them of critical medicines and health care, to deprive them of food and other necessities of life. This is their way of exerting sovereignty over a sovereign people, a way of essentially repealing the right of self determination of the people of Artsakh by use of military force and coercion,” Schiff said. 

The congressman said he believes that this also the result, frankly, of too many statements by the international community, including the United States.

“Statements of moral equivalency, calling on both sides to stop acts of provocation when there is only one belligerent here, and that belligerent is Azerbaijan. So I'm deeply concerned about this latest action by Azerbaijan to tighten the noose around Artsakh. And the international community and the United States need to speak out with much greater force, use all the diplomatic tools at our disposal to end this blockade and also end this gradual war by Azerbaijan.

“I've never been more concerned, frankly, that there may be another major outbreak of war, that Azerbaijan may intend another invasion of Armenia or Artsakh, or both, to try to further remake the map of the region by military force,” the US congressman said.