On November 19th, 2023, members of the Governing Council of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Jirayr Sefilian, Ara Papian, and Garo Yegnukian met with a delegation from the United States House of Representatives led by Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) and included Congresswoman Victoria Spartz (R-IN) and the Executive Director of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission), Steven Schrage.

 

Congressman Wilson is the Chair of the joint Senate-Congress Helsinki Commission and serves as a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee where he is the Chair of the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia Subcommittee and a member of the Subcommittee on Europe. He is also the most senior member of the House Armed Services Committee where he is on the Subcommittees on Readiness and also Strategic Forces.

 

During the meeting, which lasted 1.5 hours, NDA leaders and the Congressional delegation discussed a wide range of topics, centering around the role that NDA can play in Yerevan and Washington in bringing Armenia closer to the United States and its allies and combating malign Russian influence in Armenia. NDA leaders urged their interlocutors to help secure the safe return of displaced population of Artsakh to their homes under international protection and possible sanctions against the Aliyev regime. Finally, NDA leaders shared with the Congressional delegation their criticism of the “Pashinyan peace plan”, which not only de facto ignores the plight of the Armenian population of Artsakh but also undermines Armenia’s long-term security and economic prosperity.

 

It should be noted that Congressman Wilson and Congresswoman Spartz are among the leading critics of Russia and its war in Ukraine in the United States’ Congress and have led the charge to hold the Russian government accountable. At the outset, NDA Council Members thanked Congressman Wilson, Congresswoman Spartz, and Mr. Schrage for their leadership on issues of importance for people of Armenia and Diaspora and expressed hope for continued cooperation with the assistance of The Livingston Group, NDA’s official representative in Washington.