ISTANBUL 

Azerbaijan reiterated on Tuesday that eight of its villages under Armenian occupation have still not been handed over by Yerevan.

“Armenia chose the path of enduring to menace the peace process, lives of our citizens, restoration and reconstruction work carried out in the region … Armenia also refused to hand over eight Azerbaijani villages, which are still under occupation,” said a statement by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

The statement was released on the occasion of Azerbaijan’s Victory Day on Nov. 8, which celebrates Baku’s victory in the 2020 Karabakh war. It said that despite its obligations, Armenia continued to provide military support to separatist forces in the Karabakh region amid peace talks.

It further emphasized that the separatist forces in the region ignored Azerbaijan’s warnings at various levels and platforms, and increased their provocations back in September, resulting in the anti-terrorism operation which restored the country’s full sovereignty over its territories.

“Currently, after the existence of the Armenian armed forces and the puppet regime created by Armenia in our territories were brought to an end, there are ample opportunities for peace and stability in the region,” the statement said.

It added that “Armenia must finally recognize that there is no alternative to peace and cooperation in the region,” noting that Azerbaijan calls on Armenia to demonstrate a “constructive and just position in the peace process and to understand the realities in the region properly.”

Azerbaijan and Armenia relations have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement and also opened the door to normalization.

This September, the Azerbaijani army initiated an anti-terrorism operation in Karabakh to establish constitutional order, after which illegal separatist forces in the region surrendered.

Azerbaijan, having now established full sovereignty in the region, has reiterated its call on the Armenian population in Karabakh to become part of Azerbaijani society.