,,iv  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #deb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of
 ,,representatives  ,june #bj1 #bjai,mr4
 ,pallone 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,bilirakis1
 ,ms4 ,speier1 ,mr4 ,king of ,new ,york1
 and ,mr4 ,schiff7 submitted the        
following resolution2 which was referred
 to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs 
,,resolution  ,expressing the sense of  
the ,house of ,representatives regarding
 the recent free and fair parliamentary 
elections and transfer of power in      
,armenia1 reaffirming the critical      
importance of the ,united               
,states-,armenia partnership1 and for   
other purposes4  ,whereas the ,united   
,states formally recognized the         
independence of the ,republic of        
,armenia almost a century ago on ,april 
#bc1 #aibj1 through a letter from       
,secretary of ,state ,bainbridge ,colby 
to the ,representative of the ,armenian 
,republic1 ,garegin ,pasdermadjian1     
informing him of ,president ,woodrow    
,wilson's decision2 ,whereas the ,united

 ,states recognized the reestablishment 
of ,armenia's independence following    
seven decades of ,soviet rule on        
,december #be1 #aiia1 when ,president   
,george ,h4,w4 ,bush announced this     
decision in an address regarding the    
dissolution of the ,soviet ,union2      
,whereas the people of the ,republic of 
,armenia showed their commitment to     
democracy1 anticorruption measures1 and 
rule of law during their nonviolent     
,velvet ,revolution between ,april and  
,may of #bjah1 leading to the peaceful  
transfer of executive leadership2       
,whereas the ,velvet ,revolution        
culminated in the ,december #i1 #bjah1  
national parliamentary elections that   
were held with respect for fundamental  
freedoms and enjoyed broad public trust 
that needs to be preserved through      
further electoral reforms1 according to 
the ,organization for ,security and     
,co-operation in ,europe 7,,osce7       
election observation mission2 ,whereas  
the longstanding friendship of the      

,american and ,armenian peoples         
reinforced during decades of principled 
,united ,states leadership for ,armenian
 independence from ,soviet tyranny1 and 
expanded1 in the years since ,armenia's 
reborn independence1 through regional   
and international security cooperation1 
and mutually beneficial bilateral       
political1 economic1 military1          
democracy1 and development partnerships2
 ,whereas almost a century after the    
,united ,states first formally          
recognized the independence of the      
,republic of ,armenia the bilateral     
political1 economic1 and strategic      
partnership between the two countries   
continues to flourish2 ,whereas ,united 
,states-,armenia ties are deeply rooted 
in shared democratic values1 the ,united
 ,states enduring commitment to         
,armenia's independence1 and a common   
vision of regional peace and global     
security1 as reflected in ,armenia's    
membership in ,,nato's ,partnership for 
,peace and its record of deployments as 

part of ,united ,states-led peacekeeping
 operations in ,afghanistan1 ,iraq1     
,lebanon1 ,kosovo1 and ,mali2 ,whereas  
,president ,donald ,trump1 in a         
,september #ba1 #bjah1 message to       
,armenian ,prime ,minister ,nikol       
,pashinyan1 stated1 ,we thank you for   
your steadfast partnership on many      
fronts1 including contributing to ,,nato
 operations and showing great generosity
 in welcoming ,syrian refugees2 ,whereas
 ,armenia remains constructively engaged
 in the ,,osce ,minsk ,group process1   
co-chaired by the ,united ,states1 which
 seeks to strengthen the #aiid ceasefire
 agreement signed by ,armenia1          
,azerbaijan1 and ,nagorno ,karabakh1 and
 to facilitate a durable and democratic 
peace2 ,whereas ,armenia's aid-to-trade 
transition requires continued ,united   
,states leadership on trade and         
investment promotion1 upgraded          
engagement through the ,economic ,task  
,force and ,trade and ,investment       
,framework ,agreement ,council1 and the 

exploration of mutually beneficial      
economic accords2 and ,whereas continued
 ,united ,states investment into        
initiatives that further government     
transparency1 strengthen democratic     
institutions1 and empower civil society 
in ,armenia will only help to bolster   
the historic ties and friendship between
 the two countries3 ,now1 therefore1 be 
it  ,that the ,house of                 
,representatives-- 7#a7 celebrates      
almost a century of ,united             
,states-,armenia relations1 the enduring
 friendship of the ,american and        
,armenian peoples1 the strong bonds     
between the two governments1 and the    
many contributions ,americans of        
,armenian heritage continue to make to  
the ,united ,states2  7#b7 honors and   
congratulates the people of ,armenia on 
their peaceful and constitutional       
leadership transition and the ,december 
#i1 #bjah1 democratic parliamentary     
elections broadly recognized as free and
 fair2 and  7#c7 calls for continued    

,united ,states leadership in helping   
empower the ,armenian people to solidify
 their progress by strengthening ,united
 ,states-,armenia relations through     
bilateral visits1 defense consultations 
to draw ,armenia closer to the ,united  
,states1 increased cooperation on       
international peacekeeping operations1  
targeted trade and investment promotion1
 and support for political party        
development1 transparency1 rule of law1 
civil society development1 and media    
freedom4