The presence of Armenian armed forces in Azerbaijani territory is the prime cause of tension, undermining regional stability and security, Haciyev said in an e-mailed statement.

 

"Armenia, with its deliberate provocative actions aimed at deterioration of the situation, seeks to obstruct the resolution of the conflict and consolidate the status quo,” Haciyev said.

The Azeri Defense Ministry said on Jan. 26 it lost three soldiers in fresh fighting with Armenian troops occupying Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent districts.

The soldiers died while repelling an Armenian attack in an undisclosed location, according to a ministry statement on its website. 

The enemy has lost 17 troops in January alone, the ministry said.

Armenia captured nearly one-fifth of Azerbaijan’s internationally-recognized territory in a war after the Soviet breakup in 1991.

While major hostilities ended with a cease-fire in 1994, no peace agreement has been signed.

Armenia has yet to comply with four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal from the occupied territory.

Azerbaijan says it reserves the right to use force to regain control of the territory should peace efforts led by Russia, France and the US fail.