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Varuzhan Geghamyan, an academic and expert on Armenian-Azeri relations, claims the latest phone call between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paved the way for greater Turkish influence in the South Caucasus.

In a social media post on Tuesday, he highlighted that the phone conversation came shortly after the election of a new Artsakh president and focused on Artsakh.

“Armenia officially endorses Turkey as a party to the Artsakh conflict. Previously, Armenia always thwarted such attempts by Turkey,” Geghamyan wrote.

The expert claimed Armenia’s phone call with the Turkish leader “legitimized” Turkey’s growing influence in the South Caucasus, and Turkey “will increase its interference in Armenia’s internal and internal affairs in an effort to squeeze the country into its zone of influence.”

Referring to Turkey’s demands to dismantle the Nemesis Monument in Yerevan earlier this year, Geghamyan states that now it "bans" Armenia's authorities from congratulating the new Artsakh leader.

“Turkish and Azerbaijani news leaks suggest that the de facto prime minister of Armenia attempted to communicate with the Turkish president for three days, but faced rejection. It remains unclear what conditions were met for the phone call to become possible,” he added.