Azerbaijan said the Armenian separatists had handed over the bodies of the five dead soldiers in the presence of international mediators on Monday, two days after they were killed during a border clash in Karabakh region.

Earlier, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Armenia had violated the procedure and asked for "unacceptable" conditions for the recovery of bodies.

The bodies of the soldiers were found under the mediation of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Clashes in Karabakh region, which pro-Armenian militia occupied in 1993, are nothing new.

In April 2016, more than 270 military personnel lost their lives in the worst-ever breach of a 1994 treaty between the sides, according to the Defense Ministry.

Three UN Security Council Resolutions (853, 874 and 884), and United Nations General Assembly Resolutions 19/13 and 57/298 refer to Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe refers to the region as occupied by Armenian forces.