Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said its military positions came under fire from Armenian forces Thursday.

The Armenian armed forces units in the Yukhari Shorzha settlement of the Basarkechar region opened fire periodically from Wednesday evening, at the Azerbaijan army positions in the Zeylik settlement of the Kalbajar region, the ministry said.

Azerbaijani units fired in retaliation, the statement added, noting that for now, the situation is stable.

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

New clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, with the Armenian army attacking civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violating several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and over 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years.

Prior to that, about 20% of Azerbaijan's territory was under illegal occupation.

The fighting ended with a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10, 2020, which was seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia.

Two months later, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a pact to develop economic ties and infrastructure to benefit the entire region. It also included the establishment of a trilateral working group on Nagorno-Karabakh.