BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 25. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Republic of Azerbaijan Pauline Eizema was summoned to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs on November 25, the ministry told Trend.
During the meeting, the ambassador was briefed on the ministry's dissatisfaction with the letter of Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Wopke Hoekstra, addressed to the Dutch Parliament on November 23, over alleged war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani Army.
As the ministry noted, the Armenian armed forces have been committing the murder of Azerbaijani servicemen and civilians since the first Karabakh War. Thus, only 613 civilians were killed brutally in Khojaly on February 26, 1992 in just one night, and around 4,000 Azerbaijanis went missing during the war. In October 2020 [during the second Karabakh War], Armenia subjected Azerbaijan's Ganja, Barda, and Mingachevir cities to the missile strike, thereby committing another crime against humanity.
The ambassador was told that the Armenia-planted landmines on Azerbaijan's liberated lands keep posing a serious threat to the lives of people. Nearly 268 Azerbaijani citizens died in mine blasts following the 2020 second Karabakh War. It was noted that the discovery of Armenia-made explosive mines in Azerbaijan's territory is a vivid example of continuing Armenian war crimes against Azerbaijanis.
It was emphasized that the Armenian government hadn't yet taken any practical measures to bring the crime perpetrators to justice. The need for an international assessment of these crimes was also emphasized.
Moreover, unlike Armenia, Azerbaijan remains committed to its international obligations and investigates claims for criminal acts that allegedly took place during military operations. On September 17, 2022, the Military Prosecutor's Office announced the launch of an all-inclusive investigation to determine the authenticity of the relevant videos spread on social media platforms.
The ambassador said that she would submit the Azerbaijani ministry's appeal to the relevant authorities of the Netherlands.