In a volatile renewal of tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has called for restraint and dialogue following inflammatory remarks by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who described Armenia as a 'fascist state' in an interview with local media on Tuesday.

The Azeri leader's comments, triggered by Armenia's military reforms and recent arms agreements with France, have heightened concerns of further conflict in the region.

The latest war of words emerged in the aftermath of accusations exchanged between the two nations over alleged ceasefire breaches.

Aliyev's government alleged that Armenian forces fired upon Azeri positions at the southeastern border on January 5, accusations that the Armenian Defense Ministry dismissed as disinformation.

Prime Minister Pashinyan responded by urging Azerbaijan to choose dialogue over aggression.

He suggested that Baku might be attempting to legitimize further escalation in the region by making provocative statements aimed at eliciting a similarly aggressive response from Yerevan.

'Combined with the spread of false information about the violation of the ceasefire by the Armenian army, this could form a justification for a new escalation,' he told Armenpress on Wednesday.

Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been fragile since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, a reality underscored by repeated conflicts over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

This area has been a focal point of armed confrontations, most notably the 2020 and recent 2023 conflicts that saw Azerbaijani forces retake territory and prompted allegations of ethnic cleansing following an exodus of 100,000 ethnic Armenians.

Azerbaijan's portrayal of Armenia as a regional menace comes amidst a fraught backdrop of international pressure for peace.

The United States and European Union have been advocating for a diplomatic resolution, seeking to mediate talks that could culminate in a durable peace agreement.

Reaffirming Armenia's commitment to peace, Pashinyan emphasized the country's preference for negotiation over conflict.

'We will continue to focus on demarcation, on agreeing on the text of the peace treaty, and on an agreement on humanitarian issues, including discovering the fate of the missing,' he stated, highlighting a commitment to address longstanding bilateral issues through dialogue rather than through coercive rhetoric or military might.

Gabriel Gavin contributed reporting to this story.