(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Nigar Hasanova Read more
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan
takes note of the statement by the National Security Service of
Armenia dated January 25, 2024, on the intention to present
landmine maps to Azerbaijan, Azernews reports.
“Armenia's indiscriminate, massive, and purposeful planting of
landmines in the territories of Azerbaijan is one of the major
threats to large-scale post-conflict restoration and reconstruction
work, the civilian population living in these territories, and the
return of IDPs and their peaceful lives in their homes. These
actions of Armenia are not only a war crime but also a serious
violation of international humanitarian law and Armenia's
commitments that it has undertaken.
Azerbaijan, both before the 2020 Patriotic War and during the
post-conflict period, has repeatedly demanded Armenia submit
landmine maps.
It is well known that the accuracy of landmine maps-the
existence of what was denied by Armenia following the signing of
the Trilateral Statement dated November 10, 2020, but later
submitted as a result of international pressure-is only 25%. We
have frequently pointed out that the provided maps are ineffective,
incomplete, and do not accurately portray the reality on the
ground. Although these maps show that only 400 thousand landmines
were reportedly deployed in our territories, the actual number of
landmines surpasses one million.
At the same time, it is worth noting that more than 55% of
landmine explosions in recent years occurred in locations outside
the areas where maps were provided by Armenia. We remind that 342
of our fellow citizens have become landmine victims since the end
of the Patriotic War in 2020, with 65 individuals killed, including
three journalists. Out of the 65 dead, 50 were civilians.
It is also the fact that, even after 2020, Armenia deployed new
landmines of Armenian production within and along the perimeters of
the territory of Azerbaijan, where Russian peacekeeping forces were
temporarily deployed, with about 500 thousand landmines planted. At
the same time, this proves that there is no basis for the
statements of Armenia declaring that it has neither produced nor
exported landmines in recent decades.
This statement by the Armenian side demonstrates that the
intention of this country is not a humanitarian one, and this step
could not be considered a confidence-building measure. Azerbaijan
expects Armenia to submit accurate maps of all land-mined sites
that have not yet been fully presented to Azerbaijan.
Moreover, urgent measures have to be taken by Armenia to provide
information on the fates of 4000 missing Azerbaijanis and places of
mass graves where Azerbaijanis have been buried over the last 30
years,” the ministry noted.
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