On a visit to Yerevan, the President of the American House of Representatives considered that the violence unleashed by Baku threatened “the prospect of a peace agreement”.
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday accused Azerbaijan of being responsible for border clashes this week between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces that left more than 200 people dead.
“We strongly condemn these attacks, on behalf of the (US) Congress, which threaten the prospect of a much-needed peace agreementMs. Pelosi said at a press conference from the Armenian capital, Yerevan. “Armenia is of particular importance to us because of the emphasis that has been placed on the security aspect after the illegal and deadly attacks by Azerbaijan on Armenian territory.“, she added.
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His visit comes at a time when the region, strategic for the transport of hydrocarbons from the Caspian Sea, is plagued by friction between the influence of Turkey, a support for Azerbaijan, and that of Russia, a traditional ally of the Armenia where it has a military base, but which is very busy in Ukraine.
Unprecedented climbing since 2020
The West is present via a stalled OSCE Minsk Group peace process and talks supported in recent months by the European Union but which have not prevented further violence. Clashes on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border erupted on Tuesday and ended with international mediation on Thursday night. Both sides accuse each other of initiating the fighting.
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The Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Alen Simonian, said on Sunday that the violence was able to end thanks to American mediation, after the failure during the week of a truce attempt under Russian mediation. “We are grateful to the United States for the agreement on a fragile ceasefire achieved through their mediation“said Alen Simonian, during a joint press conference with Nancy Pelosi.
This violence is an unprecedented escalation since 2020 and threatens to torpedo a fragile peace process between these two former Soviet republics in the Caucasus. In 2020 and the 1990s, the two countries clashed in two wars to control the breakaway region of Nagorny Karabakh, an enclave populated by Armenians but located in Azerbaijan. In November 2020, after six weeks of fighting that left 6,500 dead and ended in a heavy Armenian defeat, a ceasefire was signed under the aegis of Moscow and 2,000 Russian peacekeepers deployed in Nagorny Karabakh.
“Turkey and Azerbaijan responsible»
“In the (American) Congress, we hold Turkey (ally of Baku) and Azerbaijan responsible for the existing conflict in Nagorny KarabakhNancy Pelosi said on Sunday. The official arrived in Armenia on Saturday for a three-day visit. She is the most senior American official to visit Yerevan since the independence of this small Caucasian country in 1991, which has a large diaspora in the United States. On Sunday morning, she laid flowers at the memorial in Yerevan dedicated to the 1.5 million Armenians killed in the Ottoman Empire during World War I.
Armenia is campaigning for these killings to be recognized internationally as genocide, a claim firmly rejected by Turkey, which evokes reciprocal massacres. Last year, US President Joe Biden sided with Yerevan and recognized the term genocide.
“It is a moral duty for all to never forget, an obligation that takes on even more urgency as atrocities are being committed across the planet, including by Russia in Ukraine.Nancy Pelosi said on Saturday, referring to recent accusations against the Russian army of abuses in Ukraine.