Turkish Delegation visited the Parliament and the Mine Action Agency of Azerbaijan

As reported, the delegation led by Mr. Suleyman Arslan, the Chairman of TIHEK is holding meetings in a number of state agencies during their official visit to Azerbaijan.

Delegation members together with the Ombudsman of Azerbaijan Ms. Sabina Aliyeva visited the Parliament (Milli Mejlis) of Azerbaijan.

The Delegation was received by Mr. Fazail Ibrahimli, the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament. At the meeting, which was also attended by other deputies of the Milli Majlis, it was noted that friendly Azerbaijani-Turkish relations are based on deep historical roots and mutual trust, and cooperation between these two countries is at the highest level.

Later, the delegation held a meeting with Mr. Vugar Suleymanov, Chairman of the Mine Action Agency of Azerbaijan (ANAMA). During the meeting, the Chairman said that the number of mine casualties continues to rise, despite the fact that more than 35,000 landmines have been cleared in the liberated areas of approximately 100 million square meters within 200 days since the signing of the tripartite Statement. Stressing that mines can be active for decades and pose a serious risk, he added that 28 persons were killed by the blast of mines due to Armenia's failure to provide all mine maps to Azerbaijan so far.

It was also said that the presence of landmines, along with threatening the right to life, prevents the return of IDPs to these areas, and generally slows down the rehabilitation and development processes.

It should be noted that tomorrow the Delegation to visit the liberated city of Aghdam.