The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday slammed so-called presidential and parliamentary elections held Tuesday in Upper Karabakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh -- a region illegally occupied by Armenia.

Axar.az reports citing Turkish media.

“OIC views the holding of elections in the occupied region of the Republic of Azerbaijan on March 31, 2020 as in contravention to the relevant UN Security Council resolutions concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” the international organization said on Twitter.

The OIC also highlighted the importance of resolutions and decisions of the OIC and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to encourage a “peaceful solution to the conflict on the basis of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan”.

Azerbaijan and Armenia, two former Soviet republics, fought a war over the disputed region in 1988-1994. The two signed a cease-fire in 1994, but never reached a peace deal. Upper Karabakh remains unrecognized internationally as a separate state.

Turkey maintains that any resolution of the Upper Karabakh conflict should take into account Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.