Azerbaijan has made every effort to disrupt the implementation of demining programs in Armenia and Artsakh, Spokesperson for teh Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anna Naghdalyan says.
The comment come after the Azerbaijani authorities in their recent statements accused the Armenian side of refusing to provide maps of minefields of the territories currently under the Azerbaijani control
“As you know, the Azerbaijani authorities are blatantly violating the international humanitarian law and their commitments under the provisions of the November 9 statement to repatriate Armenian prisoners of war and civilians who are still being held in captivity. In fact, in response to the pressure of the international community on this issue, the Azerbaijani side is trying to create grounds for justifying its non-compliance by putting forward a fake agenda of minefield maps. The fact that the Azerbaijani officials are raising this issue exclusively in the public field is a case in point,” Naghdalyan stated.
“Throughout the conflict, the Azerbaijani side didn’t make any proposal to cooperate on demining issues; moreover, it made every effort to disrupt the implementation of demining programs in Armenia and Artsakh. It is enough to recall that Azerbaijan in 2016 blocked the extension of the mandate of the OSCE Office in Yerevan under the pretext of the latter’s support to demining p,” the Spokesperson continued.
“We call on the Azerbaijani authorities to refrain from attempts to mislead the international community and to undertake tangible steps to fulfill its commitments undertaken by the November 9 trilateral statement and under the international humanitarian law, which entails the immediate, unconditional release of all prisoners of war, captured civilians and their repatriation,” she concluded.
