President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan has declared a "state of war" and threatens war with Armenia in a series of messages that was posted on his Twitter account.

"We are not living in peace, we are living in a state of war. Everyone must know this" he tweeted.

On Thursday, President Aliyev tweeted more than 60 messages on his official twitter account stating that Azerbaijan is prepared to go to war with Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

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"We will restore our territorial integrity either by peaceful or military means. We are ready for both options."

It is estimated that around 30,000 people were killed during a six-year war between the two countries that began during the final years of the USSR. The conflict ended in a ceasefire that was brokered by Russia in 1994.  

Although the two countries signed the ceasefire two decades ago, dozens of people are still killed every year from multiple clashes between the two sides. However, tensions flared up last week when Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defense said that 14 of its soldiers were killed in various confrontations in the region that began on July 30.

According to a senior military official from Armenia, no casualties were reported on the Armenian side.

It is still unclear what caused the recent confrontation but the two sides are blaming each other for starting it.

Peace talks have been hosted before by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group to encourage both Armenia and Azerbaijan to negotiate a peaceful solution to the conflict.

The Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement last Saturday saying "we take the position that any further escalation is unacceptable" while the United States have expressed their concern over the violence and called for both sides to respect the ceasefire.

Both Russia and the US are part of the OSCE Minsk Group. Russia, the US and France are currently the co-chairs.

Tagsazerbaijan, armenia, OSCE, Minsk Group, President Ilham Aliyev