Washington, D.C. – Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) issued the following statement after a meeting with Grigor Hovhannissian, Armenian Ambassador to the United States:

“As Armenia celebrates its 25th anniversary of independence, it was a pleasure to welcome Ambassador Hovhannissian to the nation’s capital.  During our meeting, we discussed the plight of Armenian Christians in Syria.  In a clearly genocidal campaign, Armenians have been enslaved, raped, crucified, and tortured by ISIS. 

“We also discussed the stalled peace negotiations for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.  Earlier this year, the violence escalated into a four day war.  It is my hope the administration will work to implement the proposals myself and 79 other members of Congress offered in a bipartisan letter to help bring a peaceful resolution to the conflict.”

NOTE:  Chairman Royce is an active member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues.  In April of 2014, Royce led a bipartisan delegation to Armenia where the delegation commemorated the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and placed a wreath at Tsitsernakaberd, the national memorial to the Genocide.

###