Participant of the meeting with Adam Schiff: Our goal is to give Artsakh hope that the Diaspora has not forgotten about it

In Los Angeles, American Armenians have been holding protests in support of Artsakh for several days, during which they have had a meeting with pro-Armenian Congressman Adam Schiff. Lawyer and Managing partner of the Law Firm Gurgen Mkrtchian told Alpha News about the details of the meeting.

“The meeting headed by Hovnan Srbazan took place in the presbytery and lasted around an hour. The Armenian community demanded that Schiff go to Artsakh as the best congressman for Armenians. He replied that he should write letters. A new letter was addressed to the US President, focusing on the threat of genocide. As we know, Ocampo (former prosecutor of the International Court of Justice) said that according to the Geneva Convention, these actions are considered genocide, and the world should speak up. We also discussed what the Diaspora could do to achieve some results on the part of the US State Department and the US Government”, Mkrtchian said.

According to Mkrtchian, Adam Schiff, as a congressman, can do little alone, that is why, it is important for the Armenian community to put pressure on congressmen, senators and the president. Schiff said that he repeatedly visited both Armenia and Artsakh, but now that he is in the USA, he can have a greater impact.

“At the moment, he believes that he will be more useful working here, cooperating with other congressmen, senators and the White House. I think the meeting was held in a fairly friendly atmosphere. We reached a bilateral agreement, emphasizing that it was necessary to work on different sides, and, in my opinion, the congressman understood that the group organizing protests was the group of normal civilians living in Los Angeles and having requirements for their elected politicians,” he said.

Commenting on the possibility of the delivery of humanitarian aid by air, the congressman said that the US Government showed interest in this matter.

“Adam Schiff has not promised to deliver goods to Armenia by air. I asked what can be done to deliver the humanitarian aid to Artsakh, he replied that the US government showed interest in this matter. However, it is a complex problem since it is necessary to find partners, with whom they could cooperate to be able to deliver food to Artsakh by air. He has stressed that, as an individual politician, he does not have such a possibility, he does not have a key to open the Lachin corridor. He is just one of those who can cooperate with other congressmen and senators, and put pressure on the USA so that they do what they are supposed to do,” Mkrtchian said.

At the same time, he stressed that certain Armenian organizations operating in the USA seem to be indifferent to this situation.

“Armenian organizations in the USA have been working with Schiff and other congressmen for years, but for the last few months they remain silent. Perhaps, they have tried to do something, but now we notice only silence and lack of attention. After these events, we see that other congressmen and Armenian organizations have become more active. One of our goals was to give hope to Artsakh,” Mkrtchian concluded.