YEREVAN. Jan 25 (Interfax) - Armenia will give Azerbaijan eight data sheets on minefields, the Armenian National Security Service (NSS) said.
"After a number of recent Azerbaijani media reports about Azerbaijani citizens being injured by exploding landmines, and in furtherance of the arrangement reached on December 7, 2023, as a result of talks between the Armenian prime minister's administration and that of the Azerbaijani president, namely to undertake palpable steps towards boosting confidence between the two countries, the NSS has renewed its efforts to survey former Nagorno-Karabakh servicemen, as a result of which we have obtained eight new data sheets. These will be given to the Azerbaijani side through working channels over the next few days. Copies of the documents will be forwarded to international partners," the NSS press service said.
Armenia already gave more than 972 such data sheets to Azerbaijani representatives in 2021 (on June 12, July 3, October 19, and November 1 and 29) without preconditions, as a token of its commitment to the peace agenda with Azerbaijan, and also on humanitarian grounds, it said.
"After this unilateral humanitarian step, Azerbaijan started an information campaign, accusing Armenia of providing inaccurate and incomplete data sheets, and using this humanitarian step to foment hatred. Armenian representatives have stated repeatedly, both at the public and working levels, that Armenia simply did not have maps of better quality at its disposal. And those which were already handed over were received through Nagorno-Karabakh servicemen," the NSS said.
Azerbaijan could be sent new minefield maps in addition to the ones already sent, only this time through international partners, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan told a press conference on January 23.
Armenian authorities were "working to restore information on possible new mines by conducting inquiries," Mirzoyan said.
"I cannot rule out that, if both sides take constructive approaches and confidence-building steps, we might restore accurate information. I cannot rule out that we might hand [updated minefield charts] to Azerbaijan again," he said.
"This time around, this should be done through international partners," he said.