Asked by: Lord Flight (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to make representations to the government of Armenia in relation to sharing data on landmines with the government of Azerbaijan; and (2) to provide support to the government of Azerbaijan in clearing landmines from land regained by that country during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
On 14 June the Minister for the European Neighbourhood spoke to Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Bayramov. She welcomed the return of Armenian prisoners of war/detainees by the Azerbaijani Government and the subsequent handover of mine maps by the Armenian Government. We continue to monitor the situation and understand from Azerbaijani government reports that as of 9 June 2021, 27 Azerbaijanis have been killed and over 100 injured by explosive remnants of war. We are deeply concerned by this ongoing loss of civilian life.
The UK Government continues to urge both countries, most recently at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on 3 June, to work together to ensure that humanitarian organisations have unimpeded access to the region and that de-mining maps are urgently provided to ensure the safety of civilians. Last week the MOD sent Counter Explosives Experts to survey parts of Azerbaijan worst effected by unexplored ordnance to understand how the UK can best support Azerbaijan in this area.