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Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has renewed his territorial claims against Armenia in a phone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Friday, opposition Pativ Unem faction MP Tigran Abrahamyan said, referring to a statement issued by the Azeri presidential office.

In the phone call, Macron expressed "deep concerns" over the escalation of tensions in the South Caucasus and urged Aliyev to ensure free movement along the Lachin corridor, the sole road connecting Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to Armenia and the outside world, the Elysee Palace said in a statement.

Contrary to the French readout of the phone call, the Azerbaijani statement included its president’s fresh territorial claims to eight Armenian villages.

“During the conversation, President Ilham Aliyev also noted that Armenia still occupies eight villages belonging to Azerbaijan,” the statement said.

“Azerbaijan has gradually increased its "environmental demands"; Azerbaijani control over the corridor connecting Armenia to Artsakh, a corridor through Armenian territory and now territorial claims to eight Armenian villages,” Abrahamyan wrote on Facebook on Saturday.

“Incidentally, the disclose of Azerbaijani demands provides good insight into Azerbaijan's possible efforts and aggression against Armenia,” he added.