(MENAFN- AzerNews) The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry commented on the new facts of
the discovery of landmines of Armenian production in the territory
of Azerbaijan and the ongoing mine threat, Azernews reports.
According to the information from the Azerbaijani Defense
Ministry, 350 anti-personnel mines of the PMN-E type, produced in
Armenia in 2021, were found in the northern direction of the
Saribaba height, which were installed by Armenian armed formations
that have not yet withdrawn from the territory of Azerbaijan. It
should be noted that since August 2022, 1,119 mines have been
discovered and neutralized in the Kalbajar and Lachin directions of
the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and 1,609 mines,
manufactured in Armenia, in 2021 (a total of 2,728) in the
territory of the Karabakh economic region .
At the invitation of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry, the
commander of the Russian peacekeeping forces temporarily deployed
on the territory of Azerbaijan, Maj-Gen Andrey Volkov, the head of
the Turkish contingent of the joint Turkish-Russian Monitoring
Center, Maj-Gen Fatih Akpinar, and the head of the Russian
contingent, Rear Admiral Oleg Semenov, inspected the mined area on
23 November. On 24 November, this territory was visited by military
attachés of foreign states and foreign journalists accredited in
Azerbaijan.
The above once again indicates that Armenia, contrary to
paragraph 4 of the Trilateral Statement of 10 November 2020, did
not completely withdraw its forces from the territory of
Azerbaijan, and also, grossly violating paragraph 6 of the
Statement and transporting mines, abused the Lachin road for
illegal military activities, committing provocations against
Azerbaijan.
The continuation of military provocations by Armenia against
Azerbaijan, the incomplete withdrawal of its forces from the
territory of the country, as well as the continued deliberate
laying of mines in our territories are the main threats to the
large-scale reconstruction and construction work carried out in the
post-conflict period, the civilian population in these territories,
the return and peaceful living in homelands of former internally
displaced persons.
Recall that since the end of the Patriotic War of 2020 until
today, 268 of our citizens have suffered from mines, of which 45
people, including 3 journalists, have died. Of the 45 dead, 35 are
civilians.
All these once again demonstrate that Armenia is hindering the
normalization process and efforts to establish peace in the region.
This activity of Armenia is a war crime, a serious violation of
international humanitarian law and the obligations assumed by
Armenia within the framework of the tripartite statement,” the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
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