Foreign policy has taken a backseat so far in the Trump era, but there are still numerous foreign policy developments that should get people’s attention. One of those is the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region also known as the Republic of Artsakh. The former is backed by Turkey, while Armenia supports the latter. This recent flareup in the Caucasus region is part of a broader conflict over the territory that has yet to be resolved.
The New York Young Republican Club has not ignored this conflict. In fact, they announced a partnership with the Armenian Republican Association on October 20, 2020. In their statement, the New York Young Republican Club declared that “the Armenian Republican Association connects conservative Armenians throughout the United States bonded by their commitment to ensuring that the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian diaspora’s interests are represented by American politicians.”
The New York Young Republican Club has expressed its solidarity with the Armenian people by condemning Turkish aggression in the region and offering support to Armenians both at home and abroad:
This new partnership underscores the New York Young Republican Club’s determination to support the Armenian people in their homeland and across the globe. Previously, we have condemned historic Turkish aggression against Armenians and other neighboring groups. We have also advocated for full international recognition that the Armenian people hold the sole legitimate claim to Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). Since that time, Turkish and Azeri aggression has only increased, and the Western media blackout of the heinous acts of violence against innocent Armenians has only expanded.
The New York Young Republican Club was delighted to see Armenian flags and signs criticizing Turkish and Azeri aggression along the motorcade route to President Donald Trump’s recent fundraiser in Newport Beach, California. In a rally that followed, President Trump expressed sympathy for the Armenian people and said that he and his team “are working on some things” to resolve the ongoing crisis. In the meantime, the New York Young Republican Club, wants economic and trade sanctions imposed on Turkey and Azerbaijan and Turkey potentially kicked out of NATO.
The Republican organization offered a concluding statement:
The New York Young Republican Club will always stand back and stand by in defense of the Armenian people, and we look forward to deepening our relationship with the Armenian Republican Association in defense of one of the world’s oldest and most distinctive countries.
BLP reached out to Gavin Wax, the president of the New York Young Republican Club, for his commentary on the situation:
We are proud to partner with the Armenian Republican Association. The New York Young Republican Club firmly believes in strengthening our ties to the oldest Christian state, Armenia. For far too long our nation has turned a blind eye to the persecution of Christians globally. Our foreign policy should be one that aligns with our nation’s Christian heritage. We look forward to working with the ARA to deepen the ties between the Republican Party,the Armenian diaspora and the Republic of Armenia.
The U.S. foreign policy establishment has largely enabled Turkish aggression and has given it diplomatic cover when it goes Neo-Ottoman in its foreign policy dealings. Instead of obsessing over countries such as Iran, the U.S. should perhaps start re-assessing its relationship with Turkey — a country that games its relationship with the West to advance its revanchist fantasies in the Caucus, Middle East, and the Mediterranean.