Azerbaijan said on Thursday that Armenia used combat drones against its military positions in the East Zangezur economic region.

“On May 18, at about 07:15 (0315GMT), the Armenian armed forces used combat UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) at several positions of the Azerbaijani Army deployed in the direction of the Yellija settlement of the Kalbajar district,” the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The remains of "projectiles made in a handicraft manner" and dropped by UAVs were found during inspections of the attacked area, it said, adding that Azerbaijan suffered no casualties and that retaliatory measures are being taken.

“We inform that the Armenian military-political leadership bears the entire responsibility for the tension created in the region,” the statement concluded.

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

Most of the territory was liberated by Baku during a war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement and also opened the door to normalization.

Tensions between the neighboring countries increased in recent months over the Lachin corridor, the only land route giving Armenia access to Karabakh.