Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday warned the international community that the military situation in the South Caucasus has escalated significantly during the past week, blaming Azerbaijan for what he called the “ongoing military buildup” along the line of contact in Artsakh and the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.

He called on the international stakeholders, including the United Nations Security Council member states, to take decisive steps to prevent a new outbreak of war in the region.

“The hateful anti-Armenian rhetoric has further escalated in the Azerbaijani press and propaganda platforms. The policy of encroachments against the sovereign territory of Armenia continues,” Pashinyan told his cabinet, recalling that, on September 1, Azerbaijan’s offensive against the Sotk village in the Gegharkunik Province resulted in the deaths of three Armenian soldiers.

“This provocation was preceded by the dissemination of fake news by Azerbaijan falsely accusing the Armed Forces of Armenia of violating the ceasefire on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border,” Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan said that coupled with Azerbaijan’s provocations against Armenia, the Lachin corridor remains under a blockade with the resulting humanitarian crisis escalating.

“It is obvious that with these actions, Azerbaijan is demonstrating intention to commit a new military provocation against Nagorno-Karabakh and the Republic of Armenia. Fake and untrue narratives are being circulated in an attempt to justify such a provocation,” Pashinyan warned at Thursday’s cabinet meeting.

Official Baku was quick to respond to Pashinyan’s statements and accused Armenia of having territorial demands from Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said that Baku has put forth its demands for establishing peace and security in the region, adding that Armenia must end its military threats and stop creating obstacles for signing a peace treaty.

“The real threats to regional security are Armenia’s military and political threats, its territorial demands from Armenia and the armed forces, which despite its obligations, have not been brought out from Azerbaijan’s territory,” Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said.

At the same time, the European Union’s monitoring mission in Armenia announced on Thursday that it has increased its patrolling efforts along the border in the Gegharkunik and Syunik provinces.

“EUMA increased its patrolling activity – among others – in Armenia-Azerbaijan border areas of Gegharkunik & Syunik Provinces to observe any military developments. Through our presence on the ground, we aim to contribute to calming tensions & EU impartial reporting on the situation,” EUMA said in a post on X.