Azerbaijan reacts to Pelosi's denouncement of "illegal assault" against Armenia

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reacted to the statements by Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, who strongly denounced in a press conference in Armenia on Sunday the recent attacks by Azerbaijan against Armenia.

"The unsubstantiated and unfair accusations leveled by Pelosi against Azerbaijan are unacceptable (...) Pelosi is known as a pro-Armenian politician," the Ministry said.

Earlier in the day Pelosi attended a press conference in the capital city of Yerevan and condemned Azerbaijan's "illegal assault" against Armenia along the border, which began on 13 September and left nearly 200 dead.

Alen Simonyan, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia said, "Pelosi's visit to Armenia in this very difficult period is important for us."

"We discussed the military aggression launched on 13 September by Azerbaijan against the sovereign territory of Armenia," he added, noting that he told Pelosi that "Azerbaijani force brutally shelled not only border positions, but also settlements and civilian infrastructure in Armenia, which has caused numerous human losses."

"It is clear that Azerbaijan's military and political leadership is taking advantage of the fact that the international community's attention is focused on Ukraine," he criticized, while applauding the US mediation to achieve "a fragile ceasefire agreement" between the two countries.

Turkish officials remain silent

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an ardent supporter of Baku, who threatened Armenia on Wednesday saying that its "unacceptable" attitude towards Azerbaijan will "lead to some consequences," did not react to Pelosi's denouncement of Azerbaijan.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry remained silent during the day as well, while the Turkish state news agency AA did not report on what Pelosi said at the press conference in Yerevan.

It instead cited a "foreign policy and security analyst" who said that Pelosi's visit to Armenia is "against the interests" of Washington, and that "the visit to Armenia may even strengthen Azerbaijan's hand because the Russian administration will not be satisfied with the arrival of her to Armenia."