Pelosi condemns Azerbaijan’s attacks on Armenia

TBILISI, Sept 18 (Reuters) – U.S. Home of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday strongly condemned what she mentioned had been “unlawful” border assaults by Azerbaijan on Armenia, utilizing a go to to the Russian ally to pledge American assist for its sovereignty.

Pelosi solid her journey to Armenia, a sliver of land the scale of U.S. state of Maryland that’s wedged between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Iran, as an try to strengthen assist for what she solid as a beacon of democracy.

Talking within the historic metropolis of Yerevan, Pelosi mentioned her journey had significance following the “unlawful and lethal assaults by Azerbaijan on Armenian territory” that triggered border clashes through which greater than 200 individuals had been killed.

“We strongly condemn these assaults,” Pelosi mentioned beside Armenian parliamentary speaker Alen Simonyan, who final week expressed unhappiness with the response of a Russian-led army alliance to Yerevan’s request for assist. learn extra

Pelosi, who angered China with a visit to Taiwan final month, mentioned it was clear that the border combating was triggered by Azeri assaults on Armenia and that the chronology of the battle needs to be made clear.

The combating “was initiated by the Azeris and there must be recognition of that,” Pelosi mentioned.

Pelosi’s remarks drew an unusually robust rebuke from Baku, which mentioned she was endangering the peace within the Caucasus.

“The unsubstantiated and unfair accusations levelled by Pelosi in opposition to Azerbaijan are unacceptable,” the international ministry mentioned in a press release.

“It is a critical blow to the efforts to normalize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” the ministry mentioned, casting Pelosi’s remarks as “Armenian propaganda”.

Such a definitive apportioning of blame for the battle goes past what the U.S. State Division has to date mentioned in public. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed considerations over the combating and referred to as for calm however didn’t assign blame.

Armenia mentioned Azerbaijan shelled a minimum of six Armenian settlements contained in the border shortly after midnight on Sept. 13, attacking civilian and army infrastructure with drones and huge calibre weapons. Yerevan mentioned it was unprovoked aggression.

Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, rejects these claims. Baku says Armenian sabotage items tried to mine Azeri positions, prompting troopers to reply. Armenia says that narrative is Azeri disinformation.

RUSSIA’S BACKYARD

Russia, which repeatedly condemned Pelosi’s go to to Taiwan, considers the Caucasus as its personal sphere of affect and bristles at what it casts as U.S. meddling within the area.

Moscow although, is preoccupied by the battle in Ukraine which has triggered the largest confrontation with the West for the reason that peak of the Chilly Conflict.

Russia is Armenia’s main army ally, has a army base in northern Armenia and peacekeepers alongside the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh, over which Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a battle in 2020.

President Vladimir Putin mentioned on Friday that Russia had sufficient assets to mediate within the battle. The most recent combating ended after a Russian-brokered ceasefire.

However after appeals for assist, the Collective Safety Treaty Group (CSTO), a Russian-led army alliance of former Soviet republics that features Armenia however not Azerbaijan, selected Tuesday to dispatch a monitoring mission.

Armenian Parliamentary Speaker Simonyan mentioned he was dissatisfied with the response, likening the CSTO to a pistol that didn’t shoot bullets.

Talking beside Pelosi, U.S. Consultant Frank Pallone mentioned america needed to do no matter it may to be extra supportive of Armenia’s safety.

The US, Pelosi mentioned, was listening to Armenia about what its defence wants had been and mentioned Washington needed to assist and assist Armenia in what she solid as a worldwide wrestle between democracy and autocracy.

“We needs to be utilizing our affect, our leverage exhibiting that Armenian democracy and sovereignty is a precedence,” Pelosi mentioned. “The velvet revolution was cheered globally.”

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan rose to energy in 2018 after anti-government protests known as Armenia’s Velvet Revolution.

Pelosi mentioned it was attention-grabbing that Armenia was dissatisfied by the response from Russia.

“It’s attention-grabbing that they had been dissatisfied they bought reality finders and never safety from that relationship and we’ll see what occurs subsequent,” she mentioned.

Writing by Man Faulconbridge, Enhancing by William Maclean, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Alex Richardson

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