The fact that California`s legislature is involving itself in the foreign affairs of the United States is unconscionable.

Jason Katz, a principal of TSG, LLC, a consultancy that advises foreign governments, made the remark in an interview with Day.Az website while commenting on California State Senate`s resolution calling for the recognition of the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic".

"There is not much to say, given the fact that there is no republic, no second Armenian state. There is, however, the region of Azerbaijan known as Nagorno-Karabakh. The so-called "NKR" is not even recognized by Armenia, which begs the question of why the Armenian American community is so obsessed with lobbying for it," Katz said.
California`s Senate passed a resolution of anti-Azerbaijani nature (AJR 32) on August 27, calling for the recognition of a separatist regime in Azerbaijan`s occupied territories.
The resolution was introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gatto at the behest of the Armenian lobby, who submitted the proposal to California`s State legislature on January 6.
Katz noted that the U.S. foreign affairs fall squarely within the purview of the Federal government, adding that "California senate made a fool of itself with this erroneous recognition of a state that doesn`t even exist and cannot exist under international law."
"This issue came up several years ago and my firm in concert with the then-acting Consul General of Azerbaijan defeated it. This was done with measured diplomacy. This year, the resolution was set to die in the Senate until the incoming Senate President Pro Temp literally picked it up and carried it to the Senate floor, an act that, while not corrupt, was at best a very dirty trick," Katz said.

He noted that the Legislature of California should pay attention to issues that their constituents elected them to handle, such as water, crime, immigration, the economy, and jobs.

Azerbaijani Consulate General in Los Angeles has condemned the adoption of the anti-Azerbaijani resolution. The Azerbaijani community of California also got mobilized and harshly protested against the resolution through various means.

Touching upon the impact of this decision on U.S.-Azerbaijan relations, Katz said it will not harm relations between the two countries, because they are close allies.

"The reality is that the United States is not going to forsake Azerbaijan because of a few members of the California Legislature (along with many that just hit the "yea" button and didn`t know what they are voting for). There are just too many real world realities and benefits associated with close bilateral relations with Azerbaijan," the expert said.
Katz also stressed that the resolutions passed by the California Legislature do not affect U.S. foreign policy, adding that the legislature simply had no business, influence, power or right to even go down this path.

"The actions in California were geared to satisfy a narrow constituency of voters and political donors. The fact that members of the legislature were willing to go so far and in such a public manner make me worry for the future of California, not U.S.-Azerbaijan relations," Katz said.

He urged the U.S. to pay more attention to Azerbaijan and support it.
Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan`s internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.
The UN Security Council`s four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal have not been enforced to this day.

Peace talks, mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE Minsk Group, are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. The negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.

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