BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 20. France ranks among the leading nations globally in terms of landmine use, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in his address to the participants of the "Neocolonialism: Violation of Human Rights and Injustice" international conference, Trend reports.
"Over 5 million mines were planted across Algeria alone. As a result, just like Azerbaijan, Algeria is among the top countries in the world suffering from mine explosions. On that list, immediately behind France, comes its close ally – Armenia. In just three years, some 340 Azerbaijanis, including civilians, fell victim to the mines planted by Armenia across Azerbaijan’s formerly occupied territories. Among others, one of the reasons that closely binds these two countries is the practice of resorting to mine terrorism," President Ilham Aliyev said.