Italian portal: Demining - main prerequisite for peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan

An article by Italian journalist Emanuel Pietrobo entitled "Demining is a prerequisite for peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan" was published in the analytical portal Insideover, a special issue of the influential Italian newspaper Il Giornale.

According to Report, the author states that after the end of the Second Karabakh War in November last year, Azerbaijan regained its sovereignty over the territories occupied by Armenia for 30 years. For the first time since 1992, Novruz festivities has been held in Shusha this year. It is noted that immediately after the war, which resulted in the liberation of the territories occupied in the early 1990s, President Ilham Aliyev set a roadmap for the restoration of the liberated territories and the transport infrastructure connecting Nakhchivan with the main part of Azerbaijan.

The Armenian leadership is deliberately delaying the establishment of the Zangazur corridor to prevent the resumption of transport links between Nakhchivan and the main part of Azerbaijan and is unwilling to cooperate on fundamental issues such as return to normal life in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan and demining of lands for the implementation of envisaged projects.

"More than three months have passed since the end of the Second Karabakh War, but Armenia has not yet provided Azerbaijan with maps of the mined areas. This behavior leads to serious consequences for both Azerbaijan and Russia. So far, more than 17,000 explosives have been defused, but there have been deaths and injuries among Russian peacekeepers during mine clearance," the journalist said. It is also noted that 12 Azerbaijani civilians have been killed and 14 injured in mine explosions in the liberated areas since December.

The article notes that amid the growing number of people killed by landmines, Azerbaijani civil society representatives are appealing to the world community, international structures, and organizations, including the UN General Secretariat and the UN Human Rights Council, the Council of Europe, and the European Union to force Armenia to provide the maps to Azerbaijan.

The journalist also touched upon Italy's position on this issue. He said that Italy, which is actively involved in the reconstruction of the liberated territories of Azerbaijan and is a crucial partner of official Baku in many areas, was not indifferent to Azerbaijan's appeals.

The article also notes that the resolution adopted by the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Italian Chamber of Deputies on March 2 drew Armenia's attention to Baku's full compliance with the November 9 trilateral statement and called on Yerevan to take constructive steps to protect peace and civilians.