House

Pelosi to visit Armenia as fighting erupts with Azerbaijan: report

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) addresses reporters during her weekly press conference on Wednesday, September 14, 2022.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) plans to visit Armenia this weekend to demonstrate support for the country amid its conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan, Politico reported Thursday. 

Pelosi will travel to the Caucasus region country in western Asia after traveling to Berlin to attend the G-7 Speakers Summit, two people familiar with the visit told Politico. She will be accompanied by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) and will meet with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the capital of Yerevan. 

Armenia and Azerbaijan negotiated a cease-fire that took effect Wednesday evening local time after fighting killed more than 150 soldiers from both sides. 

The two countries have engaged in a conflict for decades over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is part of Azerbaijan. But ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia have controlled the territory since a separatist war ended in 1994. 

Russia had announced a cease-fire it brokered on Tuesday, but violence resumed shortly after. 

Azerbaijan retook control of parts of Nagorno-Karabakh during a six-week war in 2020 before Russia negotiated a peace agreement. More than 6,700 people were killed in the fighting. 

Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, did not confirm the trip when reached for comment, saying “We do not confirm or deny international travel in advance due to longstanding security protocols.” 

A spokesperson for Speier did not immediately return a request from The Hill for comment. 

Speier serves as co-chair of the Congressional Armenian Caucus. She is one of a handful of Armenian-American members of Congress, according to Politico.