Armenian Assembly of America Co-Chairs Oscar Tatosian and Talin Yacoubian in a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump urged him to take active steps to release Armenian prisoners illegally held in Baku, which would also ensure real peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In a statement released by the Armenian Assembly of America, the authors of the letter also recalled the U.S. President's statement on “protecting persecuted Christians” and “restoring peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” pointing out that real peace cannot be achieved until Baku releases all Armenian prisoners of war and captives.

"We call on you to use all the tools at your disposal for the speedy release of the Armenian captives,”- they said in the letter. 

The Co-Chairs of the Armenian Assembly of America also emphasized that there should be strong security guarantees as well as severe consequences in case Azerbaijan violates the agreement.

In their letter, they emphasized Azerbaijan's repeated failure “to fulfill its international obligations, including the 2020 agreement reached in Washington” during President Trump's first term.

The letter also expressed grave concerns about Azerbaijan's continued military presence in Armenia's strategic territories and explained that despite Armenia's willingness to reach a lasting peace agreement, Azerbaijan continues to conduct illegal show trials of Armenian captives.

The Co-Chairs recalled that the ethnic cleansing of 120,000 Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh remained an unresolved humanitarian crisis and emphasized in their letter that the rights and status of Armenians must be addressed and their fundamental right of return guaranteed.