Pashinian made the offer in phone calls with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi reported by his office on Saturday. He phoned them amid rising tensions along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the Karabakh “line of contact.”
The Armenian government says Azerbaijan has been massing troops there in possible preparation for another large-scale military assault. Pashinian on Thursday urged the international community to take “very serious measures” to thwart Baku’s alleged plans.
“Prime Minister Pashinian expressed readiness to hold urgent discussions with the president of Azerbaijan aimed at reducing the tensions,” read a government statement on his call with Macron which reportedly took place late on Friday. It said he also reaffirmed his recognition of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity made during October 2022 and May 2023 meetings with Aliyev attended by Macron.
Pashinian’s office released a virtually identical readout of his separate conversation with Scholz and Raisi. It said the French and German leaders pledged continued support for “efforts to establish peace and stability in the region.” It was not clear whether will try organize a fresh contact with Aliyev sought by Pashinian.
On Friday, three senior Azerbaijani officials met with Baku-based foreign diplomats to accuse Armenia of stepping up “military provocations,” “imitating” peace talks and continuing to foment “separatism” in Karabakh. The Armenian Foreign Ministry rejected the accusations as “completely false.”