ANKARA

Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on Wednesday extended condolences to his Azerbaijani counterpart Zakir Hasanov over a "hero" Azerbaijani soldier recently "martyred" by Armenian forces.

In a phone call, Akar decried the "aggressive stance" of Armenia, which violated the cease-fire by targeting Azerbaijani positions, and emphasized that "Turkiye always stands by brotherly Azerbaijan," the National Defense Ministry said on Twitter.

An Azerbaijani soldier was killed when Armenian forces opened fire in the western Kalbajar border region, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

Relations between the former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

Their most recent clashes were in September 2020, during which Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for nearly three decades.

A Russia-brokered deal brought an end to 44 days of intense conflict in November 2020.