Nancy Pelosi condemns Azerbaijan's attacks on Armenia

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday strongly condemned what she said were "illegal" border attacks by Azerbaijan on Armenia, using a visit to the Russian ally to pledge American support for its sovereignty.

Pelosi cast her trip to Armenia, a sliver of land the size of U.S. state of Maryland that is wedged between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Iran, as an attempt to strengthen support for what she cast as a beacon of democracy.

Speaking in the ancient city of Yerevan, Pelosi said her trip had significance following the "illegal and deadly attacks by Azerbaijan on Armenian territory" that triggered border clashes in which more than 200 people were killed.

"We strongly condemn those attacks," Pelosi said beside Armenian parliamentary speaker Alen Simonyan, who last week expressed unhappiness with the response of a Russian-led military alliance to Yerevan's request for help.