Nusrat Suleymanov: Mines are major threat to environment

As a COP29 host country, Azerbaijan must bring together the two issues that are among the most pressing globally, climate change and demining, Nusrat Suleymanov, deputy head of the foreign policy affairs department of the Administration of the President of Azerbaijan, head of the secretariat of the Interdepartmental Center, said at the closing ceremony of the international conference on mine action in Baku, according to Report.

"Having gained and still gaining experience in humanitarian demining, my country is eager to face similar challenges. This knowledge and skills come at a price. I'm sure you all know about the deadly toll claimed by landmines and UXOs. Landmines kill people every single day, regardless of their nationality," he said.

"We call them seeds of death for a reason," he said.

"This is a major threat to our water, air and soil, but also to our souls. With a number of conflicts raging around the world, now is the time to unite and confront too many ugly facets of war. Landmines and UXOs are amongst the most insidious of them," Suleymanov noted.

He emphasized that demining is an important aspect of contributing to the fight against climate change.

"I believe the last two days were really useful for all of us as we learned from each other and came to know each other better. We have got another opportunity to appreciate the seriousness of the problem, but also get re-energized because there is a way out," he said.

"I am sure we will get together next year to discuss what have we achieved in making our planet a safer and greener place for us," he said.