“Since November 2020, nearly 400 individuals have fallen victim to landmine explosions. Azerbaijan’s landmine problem poses a serious threat not only to us, but to the entire region,” said Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov at a joint press conference with Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission.

Noting that the restoration and reconstruction of the territories that had been under occupation for almost 30 years is one of the top priorities of Azerbaijan, FM Bayramov added: “A key component and a major obstacle in this process is the landmine issue, which Azerbaijan is allocating significant resources to address. However the scale of the landmine threat is so vast that even five years after the war, we are still dealing with it. And we will continue to do so for years”.

“Azerbaijan maintains cooperation with the European Union in this regard and is keen to further expand this collaboration, as well as to implement larger projects with the organization. We hope that this issue will receive special attention in the following years,” the Azerbaijani FM underscored.