Engineers will need about 15 years to clear the territory of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh of explosive material left after the conflict, the head of the Center for Humanitarian Demining of Karabakh, Samvel Mesropyan said on Saturday
STEPANAKERT (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th November, 2020) Engineers will need about 15 years to clear the territory of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh of explosive material left after the conflict, the head of the Center for Humanitarian Demining of Karabakh, Samvel Mesropyan said on Saturday.
"I have been working in this sphere for 20 years. According to my calculations, it will take about 15 more years to detect everything, demine, and clear Karabakh's territory of explosive material. We will be working not only in towns, but we will go further, to villages. There is plenty of work," Mesropyan said.
On November 9, the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan adopted a joint statement on the cessation of hostilities in unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh. The agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh resulted in the loss of some territories controlled by the Armenian-majority self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh and the deployment of 1,960 Russian peacekeepers to the region.
After the hostilities had ceased, Armenian refugees started to return to Nagorno-Karabakh, with Russian peacekeepers ensuring their safety. Russian engineer units have started to clear roads, reconstruct electricity, water and heating communications of social facilities and households in the region.
