United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

26 March, 1999

Honorable Senators,

I am writing to express my full support of THE SILK ROAD STRATEGY ACT (S.579). I am calling upon you to endorse the legislature and vote for its approval.

THE SILK ROAD STRATEGY ACT envisages the repeal of discriminatory Section 907 which prohibits the US aid to the government of Azerbaijan. As you know, Azerbaijan has suffered enormously from the armed aggression of the neighboring Republic of Armenia which pursues territorial expansionism as her national doctrine. As a result of invasion, Armenia has illegally occupied 20% of Azerbaijan’s territory. Aggressive foreign policy of Armenia forced more than one million Azeri civilians out of their homes and made every seventh person in Azerbaijan refugee. Proportionally, it is equal to 35 million Americans and occupation of the whole East Coast. Section 907 deprives Azeri refugees of badly needed humanitarian aid. Conversely, the country-aggressor, Armenia, is the second after Israel largest recipient of the American taxpayers money per capita.

Honorable Senators, the Armenian lobby in the US Congress argue that Section 907 is aimed to put an end to the so-called "illegal blockade" of Armenia. However, it is well-known that Azerbaijan has never maintained any kind of blockade against Armenia. Azerbaijan's policy towards Armenia must be qualified as "economics sanctions against the aggressor" rather than blockade. Armenia is an aggressor which occupies substantial part of the Azerbaijani territory in violation of the UN resolutions. To force Armenia to comply with the UN principles, Azerbaijan imposed the economic sanctions on the country-aggressor. If by "illegal blockade" Armenia means Azerbaijan’s refusal to supply her with free oil, there is no country in the world which would give its oil to a country which would fill it into the tanks and aircraft and use against the innocent civilians of the country-supplier. Armenia’s "illegal blockade" allegation sounds just as much absurd as it would have sounded if Japan had accused the USA for its refusal to trade during World War II. It is very unfortunate that the Armenian lobby using the term "illegal blockade" played on general public ignorance and managed in 1992 to misinform the American lawmakers and pass Section 907 in the US Congress. Thereby, shameful and disgraceful Section 907 rewarded the aggressor and punished the victim at the time when a genocide was perpetrated by the Armenian troops in the town of Khodjaly and throughout the occupied territories.

Furthermore, blockade means that one country cuts all the routes of supply to another country. It is enough to look at the map to understand that Azerbaijan cannot maintain any kind of blockade of Armenia. Azerbaijan is not the sole country which borders on Armenia. Armenia’s borders with Georgia and Iran have always been open. In 1993-96, Russia illegally transferred weapons and ammunition worth $1 billion free of charge through Iran which is known as a sponsor of international terrorism. If there is a blockade of Armenia, then how is it possible that Russia continues weapon deliveries and plans to deploy the S300 air-defense missiles in Armenia? Moreover, Armenia itself has maintained a blockade of the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan since 1989. By closing the railroad in Megri, Armenia itself has cut the route to the world via Azerbaijan. Sometimes it is very useful to look at the map before voting for the maintenance of Section 907.

Honorable Senators, once again I ask you to support The Silk Road Strategy Act and vote for its approval. This will restore justice, contribute to the peace process and force the aggressor to comply with international law.

Faithfully yours,

Dr. Vugar Seidov
Budapest, Hungary