Azernews.Az

Sabina Mammadli

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Ukraine's Ukraine Now TV channel has presented a report on the mine-clearing operations in Azerbaijan's liberated lands, Azernews reports.

According to the report, despite the ongoing work of Azerbaijan's Mine Action Agency (ANAMA), there are still locals stepping on the mines every week, resulting in some 300 casualties and 50 deaths.

"The line of contact with the Armenian troops reached 300 km. The size of the area contaminated by mines is comparable to that of a country like Qatar. Cleaning such a site may take several decades," the report says.

The channel noted that Armenians had provided Azerbaijan with mine-field maps, which were only 25 percent accurate and, therefore, were not used.

Armenia spared no efforts to plant land mines on Azerbaijani territory, not only during the 30 years of occupation but also just before days of leaving Azerbaijani lands as envisaged in the trilateral statement in order to cause human casualties.

Armenia deliberately and constantly planted mines on Azerbaijani territories, in violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention, thereby being a major threat to regional peace, security, and cooperation.

In the early 1990s, Azerbaijan and Ukraine gained their independence from the Soviet Union and started a close friendship by establishing diplomatic relations in 1992. The relations of strategic cooperation, political, economical, and cultural ties between two countries are at a very high level.

In 2001, the two countries founded the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM), along with Georgia and Moldova. Azerbaijan currently plays an important role in both the organization and the foreign policy of Ukraine due to its strategic role in the region.

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