The Azerbaijani army has started large-scale military drills in the autonomous region of Naxcivan, the Ministry of Defense said on its website today.

The drills are led by Col-Gen Zakir Hasanov, the minister of defense. They include high-tech weapons including aircraft, missile systems, tanks and air-defense systems, the ministry said. 

Naxcivan is a landlocked region southwest of Azerbaijan that’s cut off from the rest of the country by Armenia.

Armenia captured nearly 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally-recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts, in a war after the Soviet Union’s breakup in 1991.

Major hostilities ended with a ceasefire in 1994 though the sides have yet to sign a peace agreement.

Azerbaijan has repeatedly said it reserves the right to use military force to regain control of the territory should peace efforts fail.

ANN.Az