AAA congratulated Joe Biden on winning presidential election, calling  for investigations of Turkish and Azerbaijani influence on the U.S.

ArmInfo. Today the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly), the largest, non-partisan Armenian-American advocacy organization in the United States,  congratulated former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala  Harris on being elected the next President and Vice President of the  United States.

As the Official website of AAA reports, Anthony Barsamian and Van  Krikorian, Assembly Co-Chairs, released the following statement on  behalf of the Armenian Assembly of America:

"We congratulate President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect  Kamala Harris on their election victory and extend our best wishes to  President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence."

"The Armenian Assembly recognizes that this election was hard-fought  and filled with deeply held convictions on both sides of the aisle.  We join those calling for the United States to come together after  the election in a positive spirit for the good of all Americans and  the world. While the eyes of the world have been glued to this  election, Armenian-Americans and our friends have been consumed by  the attempted Genocide being waged by the Aliyev and Erdogan regimes  with jihadist support against Armenia and Artsakh. We pray for  peace."

"We hope this change in Administration will produce investigations of  the surreptitious influence Turkey and Azerbaijan have exercised over  the United States in recent years." 

"As we stated in 2016 during the last presidential election, given  'Turkey's ties to ISIS' and its increasingly authoritarian regime as  well as 'Azerbaijan's links with ISIS,' both countries posed a  'threat to stability in the region.' At the time, we also stated that  'in view of the insecurity in the region, it is vitally important  that Christians and minority communities at risk be protected' and we  urged 'the new Administration and new Congress to take steps to  safeguard these vulnerable communities."

"We need only look at the unprecedented war launched on September  27th by Azerbaijan, with Turkey's backing, and the use of imported  ISIS and related terrorists to know that the issues the Armenian  Assembly raised then are all the more pressing and critical today."   

"We are encouraged not only by the records of Joe Biden and Kamala  Harris, but also by the statements which they issued during their  careers and reiterated in the campaign to effect Administration  reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide, enforce Section 907 of the  Freedom Support Act, not turn a blind eye to Turkey and Azerbaijan's  destructive behavior, and build on the enduring partnership between  the American and Armenian peoples."

"During the Trump Administration in 2019, both chambers of Congress  passed Armenian Genocide resolutions which were historic. The  Administration also enabled the Erdogan regime in Turkey to harm U.S.  security interests and human rights around the world, while giving  the equally corrupt Aliyev regime in Azerbaijan more than $100  million since 2018 in military assistance used against Christian  Armenians, failing to enforce Section 907 banning aid to Azerbaijan,  and allowing Aliyev and Erdogan to import jihadist mercenaries and  help America's enemies without consequences."

"The United States must take decisive steps now before more innocent  lives are lost. We urge the United States to exert full economic and  diplomatic pressure on Azerbaijan and Turkey. We fully agree with  President-elect Biden regarding Section 907 of the Freedom Support  Act. Section 907 must be fully enforced to stop military and security  assistance from being handed to a corrupt dynastic dictator like  Aliyev, who continues to use American taxpayer dollars to commit  human rights atrocities. There is no excuse for the shelling of  schools, churches, and hospitals, or for the use of white phosphorus  in sensitive environmental ecosystems. Turkey also must be sanctioned  for its active role in supporting the Azerbaijani military, including  the recruitment, transport and deployment of jihadist mercenaries.  U.S. policy towards Turkey requires a thorough re-evaluation."

Earlier, the American TV channel FOX News, targeting the Republican  audience, followed ABC News, CNN, AP and NBC, announced the victory  of Joe Biden in the presidential election. However, the official vote  count has not yet been completed. On November 3, presidential  elections were held in the United States, the main contenders for the  post of head of state are Democrat Joe Biden and the current  President, Republican Donald Trump. At the moment, the counting of  votes is ongoing in a number of states; to win, a candidate needs to  receive 270 electoral votes.