30th Anniversary of the Khojaly Massacre

Floor Speech

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Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, this week marks the 30th anniversary of the massacre of hundreds of people in the town of Khojaly, Azerbaijan. Khojaly, which is in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, was once home to 7,000 people. On February 26, 1992, in the largest killing of ethnic Azerbaijani civilians during the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, Armenian armed forces massacred over 600 unarmed people--including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elderly people--and left less than 2,000 survivors. Hundreds more became disabled due to their injuries. More than 100 children lost a parent and 25 children lost both parents, and at least 8 families were entirely killed.

Although a cease-fire was negotiated in 1994, it is my hope that Armenia and Azerbaijan can come together and find peace. The conflict remains unresolved, and we saw an unfortunate escalation of conflict in 2020 in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Long-term peace, security, and regional cooperation are in the best interests of the entire region of the South Caucasus and the world.

Azerbaijan has been a strong partner of the United States and its allies. This cooperation has included: playing a leadership role in non-proliferation issues; providing troops to serve shoulder-to- shoulder with U.S. forces in Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan; allowing transit of non-lethal equipment used by coalition forces through Azerbaijan to Afghanistan; construction of the Southern Gas Corridor from the Caspian Sea to Italy, thereby providing Europe with an alternative to Russian energy sources; and supplying 40 percent of Israel's oil. Azerbaijan also has a thriving Jewish community and has outstanding relations with Israel.

As Azerbaijanis throughout the world commemorate the massacre and continue to grieve the loss of loved ones, I hope they can find peace amidst this tragedy.

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