MOSCOW

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on Monday strongly condemned deliveries of Bastion offensive armored vehicles by France to Armenia.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada said in a statement that the transfer of the military equipment to Yerevan will serve the "destructive actions of Armenia."

"These steps by France ... puts under serious question the efforts for normalization of relations based on the respect for and recognition of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and international borders of countries in the region, thus serving to destabilization of the situation," he said.

Besides reinforcing Armenia's military capabilities, France simultaneously continues the smear campaign against Azerbaijan, according to the spokesman.

"These steps, which add to the militarization of Armenia, attest to the fact of France’s erroneous interests in the region," he emphasized.

Armenia and France should end armament and militarization policy, and understand that there is no alternative to peace and stability in the region, he stressed.

"We call upon the international community to refrain from delivering weapons and creating conditions for such a delivery to Armenia, which is known as a country with its aggressive policy and actions, and to end and condemn such illegitimate activities that prevent the establishment of peace and prosperity in the region," Hajizada added.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia 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 a constitutional order, after which illegal separatist forces in the region surrendered.