US delegation in Armenia to express support over Nagorno-Karabakh

The US embassy said the group will meet Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and a handful of other officials “to discuss US-Armenian relations and the impact of Azerbaijan’s recent military actions on the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh”.

The United States has a large Armenian community that fervently supports Yerevan in its decades-long standoff with Baku over the ethnically Armenian enclave.

The visit comes as Pashinyan tries to survive the latest wave of protests against his tumultuous rule.

Pashinyan led Armenia when Azerbaijan first seized back large swathes of Nagorno-Karabakh in a six-week war three years ago.

That defeat sparked violent demonstrations in Yerevan that saw protesters ransack Pashinyan’s office.

Armenia’s parliament plans to launch impeachment hearings against Pashinyan over this week’s military triumph by its arch-rival when it returns to session next month.

The US delegation is led by Senator Gary Peters.

The Democrat from Michigan this month accused Azerbaijan of launching “unprovoked” attacks against its neighbour.

President Ilham Aliyev’s “regime is perpetrating a humanitarian disaster in Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said on social media Friday.