ANCA calls on President Trump to cancel U.S. financing of cargo jet  sale to Genocidal Azerbaijan

ArmInfo. The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has launched a nationwide grassroots campaign calling on President Donald Trump to overrule the U.S.  Export-Import (EXIM) Bank's reckless decision to approve a $339 million loan guarantee for Boeing's sale of cargo aircraft to  Azerbaijan's Silk Way West Airlines-a company directly tied to a  genocidal regime with a well-documented record of arms trafficking  and aggression against the Armenian people.

  The campaign-available via anca.org/exim-mobilizes Armenian Americans  and human rights advocates across the U.S. to demand that President  Trump reverse the March 31, 2025 EXIM Bank decision to finance  dual-use cargo aircraft, a deal that risks further militarizing  Azerbaijan's authoritarian regime and escalating regional  instability.

  Silk Way Airlines, closely linked to the Azerbaijani government and  President Ilham Aliyev, has been repeatedly implicated in  transporting arms to conflict zones. These shipments, documented by  the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Radio  Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), and The Washington Post, include  weapons deliveries to Azerbaijan during its deadly assaults against  the indigenous Armenian population of Artsakh in 2020 and 2023. These  attacks culminated in the ethnic cleansing of over 120,000 Armenians  in September 2023-just months before EXIM approved this controversial  loan package.  "This dangerous and deeply irresponsible loan  guarantees the delivery of deadly cargo, the continued transfer of  weapons to Azerbaijan's genocidal Aliyev regime," stated Aram  Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. "The EXIM Bank's action is  not only morally indefensible, it is strategically short-sighted,  aiding and abetting Azerbaijani aggression, contrary to U.S. laws,  our international obligations, and universal humanitarian values.  President Trump must act immediately to block this loan and uphold  America's commitment to peace and the protection of persecuted   Christians." The $339 million loan guarantee (EXIM reference:  AP099540XX & AP099540XA) will support the delivery of Boeing aircraft  by Spring of 2026. The financing was approved despite extensive  public outcry, following a robust comment period in January and  February 2025 during which the ANCA led a national advocacy effort  against the deal. The campaign warned that the loan would:

Violate U.S. export control laws, including the Export Administration  Regulations and International Traffic in Arms Regulations; 

Contradict U.S. sanctions policy, particularly the Global Magnitsky  Human Rights Accountability Act and the FREEDOM Support Act;

Undermine regional peace by strengthening Azerbaijan's military  posture against Armenia and Artsakh;

Enable genocide by facilitating Azerbaijan's campaign of ethnic  cleansing and cultural erasure;

Erode U.S. credibility by aligning American taxpayer resources with a  regime condemned for war crimes and corruption.

Further evidence from investigative reporting by RFE/RL, the OCCRP,  and The Washington Post confirms that Silk Way aircraft have  conducted repeated arms shipments from Israel's Ovda Airbase to Baku-  including at least six flights in early 2025 alone. These shipments,  consistent with patterns seen before Azerbaijan's military assaults  on Artsakh, reinforce the airline's role as a key conduit for  Azerbaijani militarization and aggression.  

Earlier OCCRP reports also documented prior U.S. EXIM Bank support  for Silk Way, including $420 million in 2014 and an unprecedented $1  billion in 2017. In each case, Silk Way's fleet was used to transport  weapons to conflict zones, including Africa and the Middle East.  Notably, retired U.S. generals who oversaw military supply chains  during the Afghanistan war later entered into consulting deals with  Silk Way - raising serious ethical and national security concerns   reported by The Washington Post.  

"Armenian Americans will not stand by as our government bankrolls the  very aircraft used to bomb civilians and erase our ancestral  homeland," added Hamparian. "We call on President Trump to act now-  and we call on all Americans to join us in this urgent stand for  justice and peace."

Armenian Americans and allies can take action today by visiting  anca.org/exim and sending messages directly to the White House  demanding an immediate halt to this destructive and dangerous loan  agreement.