During her visit to Armenia by Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the United States House of Representatives, the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Armenia since the small poor

country's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Pelosi criticized Azerbaijan, accusing Baku of sparking the border dispute with Armenia she is currently visiting.

Referring to Pelosi's statements, Azerbaijan said the "unfair and baseless" statements represented a serious blow to the peace efforts in the Caucasus

Pelosi strongly condemned what she described as Azerbaijan's "illegal" border attacks on Armenia.

The Speaker used her visit to Russia's military ally to pledge US support for Armenia's sovereignty.

In response to Pelosi's remarks, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement stating:

"Pelosi's unfounded accusations against Azerbaijan are unacceptable... Pelosi is known to be a pro-Armenian politician.

She added that the statements were "a serious blow to efforts to normalize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan", calling them "Armenian propaganda".

Azerbaijan considered Pelosi's remarks an attempt to co-opt American Armenians ahead of the US midterm elections.

It also noted that "it is unacceptable to transfer domestic political conspiracies on the American agenda to the South Caucasus region through Armenia."

"Such unilateral steps and unfounded statements do not promote fragile peace in the region, but on the contrary lead to heightened tensions."

It reaffirmed that the fighting was the result of a "large-scale military provocation" by Armenia, a narrative that Yerevan denies.

"We strongly condemn these attacks, on behalf of the United States Congress," Pelosi told a press conference in the Armenian capital, accusing Azerbaijan of sparking recent clashes that, according to Pelosi, threaten "the prospect of a peace agreement."

It stressed that "Armenia has special importance to us because of the emphasis placed on the security aspect following Azerbaijan's bloody illegal attacks on Armenian territory".

Armenian Parliament Speaker Alain Simonyan confirmed during the press conference with Pelosi that the violence ended thanks to American mediation, after the failed attempt to reach a Russian-brokered truce, adding: "We are grateful to the United States for the fragile ceasefire agreement reached thanks to its mediation."

Along with France and Russia, the United States chairs the Minsk Mediators' Group, which led peace talks between Baku and Yerevan under the auspices of OSCE.