US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Sunday that Azerbaijan bore responsibility for a round of deadly clashes between it and neighbouring Armenia in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Leading a delegation of Armenian-American members of Congress on the trip, the Democrat politician condemned Azerbaijan for the clashes that had killed over 200 people, mostly Armenian soldiers.
“We strongly condemn those attacks,” Ms Pelosi said during a speech in the country's capital, Yerevan. “This was initiated by the Azeris and there has to be recognition of that.”
Ms Pelosi said it was clear that the border fighting was triggered by Azeri assaults on Armenia and that the chronology of the conflict should be made clear.
The US, Ms Pelosi said, was listening to Armenia about what its defence needs were and said Washington wanted to help and support Armenia in what she cast as a global struggle between democracy and autocracy.
A senior Armenian official expressed unhappiness last week with the response of a Russian-led military alliance to Yerevan's request for help.
“We are very dissatisfied, of course. The expectations we had were not justified,” parliamentary speaker Alen Simonyan told national television.
He likened the Collective Security Treaty Organisation to a pistol that did not shoot bullets, Interfax news agency reported.
The organisation, dubbed by some Russia's “mini Nato”, comprises six former Soviet states, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. It is intended to be a peacekeeping alliance with Moscow at the helm, and a rotating presidency.
Ms Pelosi said it was interesting that Armenia was disappointed by the response from the Russian-led alliance.
Last week, she also said the visit would have a broader scope than the current crisis between the two countries, including a discussion of the early 20th century Ottoman-led genocide against the Armenian people, which Azerbaijan's ally Turkey has long refused to recognise as genocide.
“We have taken great pride in finally passing and making the law … the recognition that what happened in Armenia was a genocide over 100 years ago.”
The House speaker was referring to US President Joe Biden's decision last year to officially recognise the Armenian genocide that occurred during the First World War.
Ms Pelosi will also meet Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan and other officials Yerevan, Politico first reported.
More than 200 people have died in the border clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan this week. Yerevan has accused Azerbaijani troops of atrocities in the deadly fighting.
Mr Pashinyan said: “For the moment, the number of [Armenians] dead is 135.”
“Unfortunately, it is not the final figure. There are also many wounded,” he told a Cabinet meeting.
The Caucasus neighbours have fought two wars — in 2020 and in the 1990s — over the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijan's Armenian-populated enclave.
Yerevan and Baku have each blamed the other of provoking the clashes, which began on Tuesday. A Moscow-brokered ceasefire ended the fighting late on Wednesday night, but the situation remains tense.
Russia, a military ally of Armenia that also strives for friendly relations with Azerbaijan, said it would pressure both countries to pull their forces back to where they were before this week's conflict broke out.
Agencies contributed to this report
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LIST OF INVITEES
Shergo Kurdi (am)
Rayhan Thomas
Saud Al Sharee (am)
Min Woo Lee
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Matteo Manassero
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The Lost Letters of William Woolf
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
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Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
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Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
The cost of Covid testing around the world
Egypt
Dh514 for citizens; Dh865 for tourists
Information can be found through VFS Global.
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Dh212
Centres include the Speciality Hospital, which now offers drive-through testing.
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Dh478
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Zanzibar
AED 295
Zanzibar Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, located within the Lumumba Secondary School compound.
Abu Dhabi
Dh85
Abu Dhabi’s Seha has test centres throughout the UAE.
UK
From Dh400
Heathrow Airport now offers drive through and clinic-based testing, starting from Dh400 and up to Dh500 for the PCR test.
