Karabakh is Azerbaijan, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated on Monday, marking the first anniversary of the second Karabakh War that resulted in the liberation of the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh territories by Azerbaijan from Armenia.

In a Twitter message, the president commemorated those who lost their lives in the struggle to liberate Karabakh and the surrounding occupied Azerbaijani territories in the region.

"Karabakh is Azerbaijan," he added.

The president also held a phone call with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev.

According to the statement made by the Presidency of Azerbaijan, Erdoğan once again conveyed his condolences to Aliyev for the soldiers who were killed in the Karabakh war and expressed his congratulations on the victory achieved.

Aliyev thanked Erdoğan during the meeting and praised Erdoğan's political and moral support to Azerbaijan during the war.

Erdoğan and Aliyev expressed their confidence that the friendship and brotherly relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey will continue to develop and strengthen in all directions.

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

When new clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 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 Armenian occupation.

The two countries signed a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10 to end fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution. The truce is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces have been withdrawing in line with the agreement.

Ankara has pledged its full support to Baku in its efforts to liberate its lands from Armenian occupation. A joint Turkish-Russian center was established to monitor the truce. Russian peacekeeping troops have also been deployed to the region.