Armenian PM discusses border clashes with EU’s Michel

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan discussed the eruption of violence on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border with President of the European Council Charles Michel on Tuesday, the Armenian government said.

In the call, Armenia blamed Azerbaijan for escalating tensions over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory.

Michel, President of the European Council, said the EU was "ready to make efforts to prevent further escalation" and said there was "no alternative to peace and stability in the region," according to an Armenian readout of the call.

Azerbaijan’s defense ministry accused Armenia of “large-scale subversive acts” on the border, adding that there were losses among Azerbaijani troops as a result of Armenian fire, including from trench mortars but Pashinyan refuted this as “absolutely false information," saying that  at least 49 Armenian servicemen have been killed in the clashes. 

The fighting marked the latest flare-up between the neighboring countries, who fought a war in 2020 over the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region, when at least 6500 people died from both sides.