Nancy Pelosi woos ‘dissatisfied’ Kremlin ally

The house speaker is highest-ranking US official to make a state visit to Armenia since it gained independence in 1991.

Nancy Pelosi visits the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex in Yerevan on Sunday. Picture: AFP

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised to support Armenia as a beacon for democracy amid signs that the Kremlin’s influence is waning in the former Soviet state.

Ms Pelosi, 82, is the highest-ranking American official to make a state visit to Armenia since it gained independence from Moscow in 1991.

The visit came after fighting erupted in Armenia last week when Azerbaijan launched artillery and drone attacks in ­response to what it said were ­Armenian “provocations”.

More than 200 people were killed ­before a ceasefire, mediated by Washington, came into force on Wednesday.

Speaking in Yerevan, the ­Armenian capital, Ms Pelosi said: “The democracy in Armenia is a value to the world, a joy to the world.” She accused Azerbaijan, which is supported by Turkey, of an “assault on (Armenian) sovereignty”.

Armenia is a member of the Collective Security Treaty ­Organisation, a military alliance with Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan – all former Soviet states. Nikol Pashinyan, the ­Armenian Prime Minister, ­appealed for military assistance from the CSTO, but this was turned down and the ­alliance sent a fact-finding mission ­instead.

Alen Simonyan, the Armenian parliamentary Speaker, compared the CSTO to a gun that did not fire bullets. “We are very dissatisfied, of course,” he said. “We expect more tangible steps from our Russian partners.” He also said American assistance was “vitally important” for ­Armen­ian statehood and praised the US congress as a “reliable partner”, a comment that could cause anger in Moscow.

Russia has a military base in Armenia that is usually home to thousands of troops. It is believed to have deployed about 1000 of them to Ukraine.

Some analysts have suggested Azerbaijan may be checking Russia’s ability to defend its ally. “They want to test Russian ­resolve at a time of failure in Ukraine,” Thomas de Waal, an analyst at the Carnegie Europe think tank, wrote on Twitter.

The Times