BAKU. Nov 20 (Interfax) -The complete demining of all Nagorno-Karabakh territories handed over to Azerbaijan will take up to 13 years, Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) Director Gazanfar Ahmadov said.
"It will take five to six years to defuse dud munitions on the battlefield, and ten to 13 years to clear mines," the Azerbaijani press quoted Ahmadov as saying.
Before leaving the Nagorno-Karabakh territories, the Armenian Armed Forces mined strategic infrastructure elements, such as power lines and water resources, as well as cemeteries, which makes the demining process more difficult, the ANAMA chief said.
The mine action roadmap is now being drafted. "First of all, an area of approximately 14,000 square kilometers, including 3,000 square kilometers of asphalt roads and about 7,000 to 8,000 square kilometers of cropland, will be demined," he said.