In a rare display of widespread bipartisanship, the Senate voted 100-0 to cease aid to Azerbaijan for the next two years amid concerns that the country might soon invade neighboring Armenia.
All senators unanimously approved the Armenian Protection Act through unanimous consent. Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich.) introduced the legislation.
The measure’s passing follows the departure of over 100,000 Armenians from the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region due to an ongoing Azerbaijani siege that has endured for more than nine months.
Armenia has levied accusations of ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijan.
“We must send a strong message and show our partners around the world that America will enforce the conditions that we attach to military aid,” Peters, who sits on the Armed Services Committee, said on the Senate floor.
“If we do not take action when countries willfully ignore the terms of our agreements with them, our agreements will become effectively meaningless and toothless.”
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had previously called on Armenia to open a “corridor” along its southern border, linking mainland Azerbaijan to an exclave that borders Turkey and Iran.
Aliyev has threatened to solve the issue “by force.