On December 4th, 2023, The Livingston Group (TLG), the lobbying firm representing the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), hosted Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) for a discussion about NDA at its Washington headquarters on Capitol Hill. Congressman Smith, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Committee, has held two Congressional hearings on Artsakh during the past few months.

TLG’s Founding Partners, former Congressman Bob Livingston and Allen Martin as well as NDA lead lobbyist Elias Gerasoulis and NDA representative Grigor Yegnukian attended the meeting. Participants discussed US-Armenia relations and the situation in Artsakh. In addition, they discussed the case of imprisoned NDA leader, Varuzhan Avetisyan, who suffers from serious health issues and should therefore be freed from detention on “compassionate release” grounds so he can seek proper medical treatment. Finally, participants touched upon the groundbreaking meeting of Congressman Joe Wilson and Congresswoman Victoria Spartz with NDA leadership on November 19, 2023 in Yerevan and confirmed its significance, given that U.S. government officials are usually reluctant to visit opposition parties and figures on foreign soil.

At the end, Congressman Smith expressed his desire to see more contacts between NDA and US government, confirmed his own commitment to work with NDA to advance the US-Armenia relations, and expressed interest in learning more about Varuzhan Avetisyan’s case. He thanked TLG for facilitating such contacts and wished Armenia and NDA success in coming months.

December 6, 2023
National Democratic Alliance