The speaker of the US House of Representatives expressed support for Armenia in what she said was the ‘struggle between democracy and autocracy’.
A powerful American political figure has condemned what she says are Azerbaijan’s “illegal” border attacks on Armenia, using a visit to Russia’s military ally to pledge US support. .
Speaking in the capital Yerevan on Sunday, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said her trip was of particular importance following “Azerbaijan’s illegal and deadly attacks on Armenian territory” that resulted in border clashes that left more than 200 people dead.
Pelosi said it was clear that the border skirmish was triggered by the Azeri attacks on Armenia and the chronology of the conflict needed to be clarified.
“We strongly condemn those attacks,” Pelosi said. “This was initiated by Azeris and must be recognized for that.”
The United States, Pelosi said, is listening to Armenia about what its defense needs are and says Washington wants to support the country in what she calls the “global struggle between democracy and autocracy.”
Pelosi also said she was amused that Armenia was unhappy with the response from the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization.
Last week, a senior Armenian official expressed displeasure at the response of the Russian-led military alliance to Yerevan’s request for help.
“Of course we are very unhappy. According to the Interfax news agency, the expectations we have are not justified,” parliament speaker Alen Simonyan told the national broadcaster, likening the CSTO to a pistol that does not fire bullets, according to Interfax news agency.
Farid Shafiyev of the Center for the Analysis of International Relations told Al Jazeera from the Azeri capital Baku that the reason for Pelosi’s visit was to ensure the American-Armenian votes would be re-elected in the midterm elections. Upcoming.
“Her constituency in California was heavily influenced by the Armenian vote,” he said, calling Pelosi’s trip an outright political ploy.
In the midterm elections in November, all 435 seats in the US House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate will be contested.
Trade blame
An outbreak of fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia this week has killed dozens of soldiers on both sides.
One Ceasefire goes into effect on Wednesday after two days of fierce fighting, marking the largest outbreak of hostilities in nearly two years.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have blamed the shelling, with Armenian authorities accusing Baku of unprovoked aggression and Azeri officials saying their country is responding to Armenian attacks.
Two countries of the former Soviet Union have been locked down for a decade conflict over Nagorno-Karabakhis an ethnic Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan, which has been under the control of Armenian-backed Armenian forces since the war of secession there ended in 1994.
During the six-week war in 2020, Azerbaijan regained large swaths of Nagorno-Karabakh and neighboring territories held by the Armenian army.
More than 6,700 people died in the fighting, which ended in a peace deal brokered by Russia. Moscow has deployed about 2,000 troops to the area on a peacekeeping mission.
