Azerbaijan hopes Armenia to abide by Nov. 10 cease-fire deal to prevent further escalation

The Azerbaijani president said on Friday that he hopes Armenia will abide by Nov. 10 cease-fire deal to prevent further escalation.

Attending a virtual news conference, Ilham Aliyev said Armenia's political crisis resulted from its occupying policies.

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

When new clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from the nearly three-decade-long occupation.

Despite the Nov. 10 deal ending the conflict, the Armenian army several times violated the agreement and martyred several Azerbaijani soldiers and a civilian, as well as wounded few people, according to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.