The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a long-time advocate for Armenian issues in Congress Ed Royce (R-Calif.) announced on Monday that he will not seek re-election this year, Asbarez reported.

“In this final year of my Foreign Affairs Committee chairmanship, I want to focus fully on the urgent threats facing our nation, including: the brutal, corrupt and dangerous regimes in Pyongyang and Tehran, Vladimir Putin’s continued efforts to weaponize information to fracture western democracies, and growing terrorist threats in Africa and Central Asia,” Royce said in a statement Monday.

“With this in mind, and with the support of my wife Marie, I have decided not to seek reelection in November.”

Since being elected to Congress in 1992, Royce has represented Orange County, which is home to significant Armenian community.

During his tenure in Congress, Royce has been a staunch supporter for United States recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the right to self-determination of the people of Artsakh and comprehensive U.S. trade and investment in Armenia.

“Americans of Armenian heritage honor the service and leadership of the longstanding Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and author of the Royce-Engel Artsakh Peace Proposals, who, today, announced he will be retiring from Congress at the end of this year,” said the Armenian National Committee of America on a Facebook post Monday.