U.S. denies report on warning that Azerbaijan may invade Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - The United States Department of State has denied a report from Politico alleging that Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned a small group of lawmakers that his department is tracking the possibility that Azerbaijan could soon invade Armenia.

According to two people familiar with the conversation, in an Oct. 3 phone call, lawmakers pressed Blinken on possible measures against Aliyev in response to his country’s invasion of the Nagorno-Karabakh region in September, the people said, who were granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive call.

Blinken responded that the State Department was looking at avenues to hold Azerbaijan accountable and isn’t planning to renew a long-standing waiver that allows the U.S. to provide military assistance to Baku. He added that State saw a possibility that Azerbaijan would invade southern Armenia in the coming weeks.

However, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that the information contained in the article is "wrong" and "does not reflect what Blinken told lawmakers."

"The United States strongly supports Armenia's sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Armenpress cited Miller as saying.

“We emphasized that any violation of that sovereignty and territorial integrity will lead to serious consequences. The information in this [Politico] article is incorrect and in no way reflects what Secretary of State Blinken told the lawmakers.”