Trump Offered to Call Aliyev About Armenian Prisoners
Trump said: if I call Aliyev, he'll release the prisoners as a favor to me.
In this moment, Harut Sassounian recounts a detailed account of the August 2025 White House meeting involving Pashinyan, Aliyev, and Trump. According to Sassounian, Trump personally offered that a single phone call to Aliyev could secure the release of the Armenian prisoners held in Baku, framing it as a favor that Aliyev would grant him. Sassounian says Pashinyan stayed silent, and as he was leaving, Trump walked him to his car and told him to call anytime on WhatsApp if something came up.
The story lands because of its specificity. Sassounian argues that more than a year has passed and Pashinyan still has not followed up, and he offers a blunt explanation: Pashinyan does not want the prisoners released because he fears they will return to Yerevan and swell the ranks of his opponents. That claim turns a procedural failure into a question of political motive, which is exactly the kind of provocative charge that travels on social video.
The clip connects to the wider themes of the episode: the fate of Armenian prisoners of war, the stalled Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process, and Sassounian’s broader critique of how the current government handles its most sensitive files. For audiences following the prisoners of war issue and the role of U.S. involvement in the South Caucasus, this is a self-contained and memorable account. Sassounian, a community leader and publisher of the California Courier, is careful throughout to say he is being fair to Pashinyan where he can, which makes the accusation here land harder. The exchange gives viewers a concrete, human stake, the men still held in Baku, and ties it directly to decisions made at the highest level.
Transcript
Harut Sassounian: Now, so the first instance is when Trump offered to be helpful. the second time was Trump said you know if I call Aliyev and ask him to release the prisoners to release the prisoners he will do it as a favor to me word for word that's what he said and Pashinyan did not say anything and the last part is as Pashinyan was leaving the White House the car came Trump walked with him to the car to the front door of the White House and as he was saying goodbye Trump told Pashinyan you have my WhatsApp phone number call me anytime something comes up and Pashinyan said thank you and got in the car and left
Asbed Bedrossian: Hmm.
Harut Sassounian: now if Pashinyan was really interested which I know he's not we can go into that also a year it's been over a year now and the president is telling him, you have my WhatsApp number, call me, anything comes up. He could say very nicely, without being critical or anything, saying, Mr. President, remember in the White House you mentioned about calling Aliyev, he would release the prisoners as a favor to you. I know you have a million things to do. You have a war going on to Ukraine, Iran, et cetera, a million problems, elections. When you have the time, I just want to remind you about your offer to talk about calling Aliyev about the prisoners. He hasn't done that.