Pelosi going to Armenia amid renewed clashes with Azerbaijan

Pelosi will make the journey accompanied by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) after a stop in Berlin for the G-7 Speakers’ Summit. She’s expected to meet with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan, the capital, as well as other government officials, two people familiar with the visit told POLITICO.

Meanwhile, the French representative to the UN during the meeting of the Security Council said that France calls on Azerbaijan to withdraw its troops from the borders of Armenia to their original positions. 

Violence between Armenia and Azerbaijan erupted again last weekend, with officials in both capitals blaming the other for attacking first. Armenia claimed Azerbaijan’s military used drones, artillery, mortars and small-arms fire to target a number of border towns. Azerbaijan, however, said Armenian forces were moving into position for a long-term escalation of fighting.

More than 170 soldiers on both sides have been killed in skirmishes over the past few days, officials in Yerevan and Baku claim.