The accuracy of the minefield maps provided by Armenia to Azerbaijan was 25 percent, spokesperson for Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry, Aykhan Hajizada, said in an interview with Envoy magazine on the occasion of April 4 - International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, Report informs.
“After international pressure, Armenia provided some maps, but these covered only a small portion of the landmine-planted areas and were only 25% accurate. Over 55% of recent landmine cases have occurred outside the areas covered by these maps.
Moreover, while Armenia’s maps indicated that approximately 400,000 landmines were planted in Azerbaijan’s territories, the actual number is closer to 1.5 million. This sort of behavior displayed by Armenia in relation to the landmine threat is yet another setback to the peace and confidence-building measures taken during the post-conflict period in the region. In this regard, we deem it of utmost importance for the international community to take consistent measures to condemn the landmine threat posed by Armenia and expect Armenia to submit accurate maps of all landmined sites that have not yet been fully presented to Azerbaijan. It is crucial that Armenia provide accurate maps of all landmine sites to allow for the safe return of IDPs and the rebuilding of affected regions,” said Hajizada.
Envoy magazine is published under the auspices of the UN. The interview was conducted by Report correspondent Vusalya Abbasova.
