Azerbaijan warns of growing landmine threat after Armenia provides faulty maps “Only 25% Accurate”

Armenia has supplied Azerbaijan with minefield maps that are only 25% accurate, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada said.

In an interview with Envoy magazine, Hajizada said that the maps provided by Armenia covered only a limited portion of the mined areas and were largely unreliable, Caliber.Az reports.

“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,” Hajizada said.

He further noted that Armenia’s maps had initially indicated approximately 400,000 landmines in Azerbaijani territories, but the actual figure was closer to 1.5 million.

“This sort of behaviour 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,” he added.

Azerbaijan has called on the international community to take a firm stance against the landmine threat and pressure Armenia into submitting accurate maps.

“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,” Hajizada said.

In fact, Azerbaijan is intensifying efforts to raise international awareness of the landmine threat in Karabakh and East Zangezur, according to Aykhan Hajizada.

“In 2023, humanitarian demining was formally recognised as the 18th National Sustainable Development Goal in Azerbaijan, and we are striving to have it recognised as the 18th Global Sustainable Development Goal by the United Nations,” Hajizada stated.

He highlighted Azerbaijan’s role in establishing a Special Contact Group on Humanitarian Demining within the Non-Aligned Movement, which became operational in September 2023. The country also led a resolution at a key meeting on the protection of cultural property, addressing the impact of landmines on heritage sites.

Azerbaijan is set to host a special conference in Aghdam in May on “The Impact of Mines and Unexploded Ordnance on Cultural Property,” followed by an international event in Zangilan and Baku on environmental damage caused by landmines.

As part of these initiatives, Hajizada noted that Azerbaijan signed a letter of intent with the UN Development Programme to establish a “Centre of Excellence” for mine action education. “This notable development will allow Azerbaijan to share its expertise with countries facing similar challenges,” he said.

By Aghakazim Guliyev