Azerbaijan seeks stronger int'l support for demining liberated lands [UPDATE]

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

President Ilham Aliyev has stressed the importance of stronger international support for demining Azerbaijani territories liberated from Armenian occupation during the second Karabakh war in 2020, as well as finding Azerbaijanis who went missing during the first Karabakh war in the early 1990s.

He made the remarks during a videoconference hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and attended by European Council President Charles Michel and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on February 4.

The president noted that since the end of the Patriotic War, 36 Azerbaijani citizens had been killed and 165 injured in mine explosions.

During the discussions, Aliyev also emphasized the importance of determining the fate of those who went missing during the first Karabakh war, locating mass graves, and opening a rail and road transport corridor.

The head of state said that 3,890 Azerbaijani citizens, including 71 children, 267 women and 326 elderly people went missing during the first Karabakh war.

The participants emphasized the significance of the joint meeting in Brussels on December 14, 2021, hosted by President Charles Michel and attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

As part of the Brussels peace agenda, detailed discussions on the normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations were held.

In this regard, in accordance with the event's pre-determined agenda, the parties exchanged views on various aspects of bilateral relations, including humanitarian issues, confidence-building measures, the problem of landmines in Azerbaijan, the opening of communications, the delimitation and demarcation of borders, and the start of peace talks.

President Ilham Aliyev reiterated Azerbaijan's position on the issues under discussion.

Additionally, the issue of UNESCO’s mission to Azerbaijan and Armenia was discussed at the meeting, and the sides agreed that a mission would be sent to both countries.