Azerbaijan hands over 10 Armenian detainees in exchange for mine maps

BAKU, Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan has handed over 10 captive soldiers to Armenia in exchange for minefield maps, Baku’s State Security Service said on Saturday.

In a statement, the agency said the soldiers were detained while attempting a provocation in the border region on Nov. 16.

Following negotiations brokered by Russia, Armenia shared the maps of Azerbaijani lands recently liberated from occupation, the statement added.

Earlier, Armenia gave Azerbaijan maps of 92,000 mines laid in Fuzuli and Zangilan provinces, and 97,000 mines in Aghdam, in exchange for the release of 30 Armenian nationals held in Azerbaijan.

Baku and Yerevan were involved in a 44-day conflict on Karabakh – a region that lies within Azerbaijan but was under the occupation of Armenia – last year, which ended with a Russia-brokered cease-fire on Nov. 10, 2020.

During the faceoff, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for nearly three decades. The cease-fire is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.

The leaders of the three countries later agreed to develop economic ties and infrastructure for the benefit of the entire Caucasus region.