Armenia warns of war with Azerbaijan ‘by the end of the week’

Armenia could be at war with Azerbaijan “by the end of the week” unless it gives in to Baku’s demands to cede more territory, the Armenian prime minister has warned.

Nikol Pashinyan, made the comments during a meeting with residents of northern Armenia’s disputed Tavush border region, which sits close to a string of deserted Azerbaijani villages that Yerevan has controlled since the early 1990s.

The four villages, which have been uninhabited for over 30 years, are strategically important to Armenia as they straddle the main road between Yerevan and the Georgian border.

However, Azerbaijan has demanded the return of the settlements, along with all of its lands, in exchange for a peace deal over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which it seized in a lightning military operation in September last year.

Mr Pashinyan warned his people about the consequences of a conflict breaking out with Azerbaijan, stating: “I know how such a war would end.”

In the past three years Armenia suffered defeat in a 2020 war with Azerbaijan, the humiliating loss of the Armenian backed, self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh republic in September 2023, and effective abandonment by Russia, its main military ally.

Baku and Yerevan have said they both want to sign a formal peace treaty, but talks have run aground over issues including the demarcation of their 620 mile shared border, which remains closed and heavily militarised.

In recent weeks, Mr Pashinyan has signalled that he is willing to return Azerbaijani land controlled by Armenia, and suggested rerouting Armenia’s road network to avoid Azerbaijani territory. Last year the prime minister’s willingness to make concessions triggered widespread anger at home and a wave of protests he has claimed were intended to oust him from power.

Meanwhile, many in Yerevan fear that Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s strongman president, emboldened by Russia’s growing apathy towards Armenia, is laying the groundwork for a third offensive – this time to conquer land inside Armenia proper.

Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, posted on Telegram that Yerevan’s deepening ties with the West were the reason for Armenia having to make concessions to Azerbaijan.

Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, responded to Mr Pashinyan’s comments by calling on Armenia and Azerbaijan to sign an “enduring” peace agreement.

“I urge both countries to reach an agreement paving the way for normalisation of relations and a durable peace for your people,” he said, speaking alongside Mr Pashinyan at a press conference in Yerevan.

Elin Suleymanov, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to London, strongly denied Baku had any plans for a third war but said the issue of the four occupied villages remained a point of contention.

“We have no plans to invade Armenia,” he told The Telegraph this month. “Why would we do that? What is the point?”