More Than 100 U.S. Lawmakers Urge Rubio to Halt Military Aid to Azerbaijan

More than 100 members of Congress are urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to halt U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan, arguing that Washington should not provide security aid while Armenian prisoners remain in Azerbaijani custody and Azerbaijani forces remain inside Armenia.

The bipartisan letter, signed by 26 senators and 75 House members, also raises concerns over the destruction of Armenian cultural and religious sites in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Reps. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., and Frank Pallone, D-N.J., led the effort, which was backed by the Armenian National Committee of America. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York was among the signatories.

The Oct. 5 letter challenges the Trump administration’s decision to continue waiving Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, a provision that restricts certain U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan.

President Donald Trump waived the restrictions in August 2025 following a White House summit with Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders. The administration informed Congress in July that it planned to extend the waiver.

Lawmakers said that decision has not produced progress on one of their central concerns: the release of Armenians imprisoned in Azerbaijan.

“It is clear that the decision to waive Section 907 has not induced Azerbaijan’s engagement on ensuring the release of POWs,” they wrote.

They warned that continuing the waiver without addressing those concerns could encourage further destabilizing actions and undermine prospects for a lasting peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The appeal comes eight months after Azerbaijani courts handed lengthy prison sentences to 16 former political and military officials from Nagorno-Karabakh. The men were taken into Azerbaijani custody following Baku’s September 2023 military offensive in the region, which was followed by the flight of more than 120,000 ethnic Armenians to Armenia.

In February, the detainees received sentences ranging from 15 years to life. Their trials have drawn criticism from Armenian officials, international rights advocates and European lawmakers over due process and allegations of mistreatment.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which had been the only international organization regularly permitted to visit Armenian detainees in Azerbaijan, ended its operations in the country in September 2025.

The congressional letter also points to reports of Armenian churches and other cultural sites being destroyed or altered in Nagorno-Karabakh since Azerbaijan took full control of the region. Lawmakers specifically cited the reported demolition of two cathedrals in Stepanakert in April.

Azerbaijan’s military presence along the Armenian border is another focus of the letter.

The lawmakers said Azerbaijani troops continue to hold positions on an estimated 241 square kilometers, or about 93 square miles, of internationally recognized Armenian territory following advances in 2021 and 2022.

They noted that Armenia transferred control of four border villages to Azerbaijan in May 2024 as part of the countries’ border delimitation process, while Azerbaijan has not withdrawn its forces from the areas Yerevan considers occupied Armenian territory.

Section 907 was enacted in 1992 and restricts U.S. government assistance to Azerbaijan until the president determines that Baku has taken demonstrable steps to end blockades and other offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Congress introduced presidential waiver authority in 2002, allowing administrations to suspend the restriction under certain conditions.

The latest push on Capitol Hill follows a 44-7 vote by the House Foreign Affairs Committee supporting legislation calling for the release of Armenian prisoners held by Azerbaijan.

ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian said the new letter showed that opposition to military assistance for Azerbaijan extends across both chambers of Congress and party lines.

“The U.S. Congress has spoken — on a bipartisan, bicameral basis,” Hamparian said, arguing that the administration’s Section 907 waiver had failed to change Baku’s conduct.

The lawmakers are asking the administration to withhold military assistance unless Azerbaijan takes meaningful steps toward releasing Armenian prisoners, protecting Armenian cultural heritage and withdrawing its forces from Armenian territory.

The congressional pressure comes as Washington remains closely involved in efforts to secure a lasting Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement, placing the question of U.S. assistance to Baku alongside broader concerns over prisoners, territorial disputes and the legacy of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

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