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Fresno County's pledge of support for the largely Armenian territory of Nagorno-Karabakh has sparked a little-known but certain international standoff, says an article in The Fresno Bee. 

The nation of Azerbaijan is asking Fresno County supervisors to rescind their April resolution supporting Nagorno-Karabakh's independence.

"This fuels fighting between the communities," Azerbaijani Deputy Consul General Ramil Gurbanov, who is based in Los Angeles, told The Bee on Monday. It doesn't help achieve "a diplomatic and peaceful solution in the region."

The supervisors, however, have refused to budge on their position, though some say they're willing to give it another look.

"We stand with our Armenian friends, both in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh ... We will not be muscled by a well-funded lobbying effort by the Azerbaijanis," said Supervisor Andreas Borgeas, who wrote the county's statement of support for Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Fresno County resolution, passed April 23, maintains that residents of Nagorno-Karabakh have elected to govern themselves and that their wishes should be respected.