Sputnik News Service
August 8, 2019 Thursday 00:00 UTC
Red Cross Ready to Build Anti-Shelling Protective Walls in Armenia – Defense Ministry
YEREVAN, August 8 (Sputnik) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is ready to launch a pilot project in Armenia aimed at protecting civilian infrastructure from cross-border shelling from Azerbaijan, the Armenian Defense Ministry said in a press release on Wednesday following talks between Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan with the head of ICRC delegation in Armenia, Claire Meytraud.
During the meeting, the sides discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and recent growth of tension on the Nakhichevan sector of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, as well as the cooperation between the ministry and the ICRC delegation in Armenia, the statement said.
"Meytraud expressed readiness to conduct in cooperation with relevant Armenian institutions a risk mitigation pilot project, under includes building protective walls around schools, kindergartens and areas exposed to frequent shelling, as well as awareness raising among the population in one of the most vulnerable communities [located near the border with Azerbaijan]," the press release read.
Tonoyan and Meytraud also discussed matters pertaining to persons gone missing during the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, the statement added.
Armenia and Azerbaijan are at odds over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In February 1988, the overwhelmingly Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh autonomy expressed will to leave the Soviet Azerbaijani republic citing its right for self-determination under Soviet law and proclaimed independence in 1991. Azerbaijan, in retaliation, launched an offensive and lost control over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and several other areas around it.
Since 1992, peace in Nagorno-Karabakh has been mediated by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Minsk group. Azerbaijan stands by retaining its territorial integrity, while Armenia represents the interests of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic which is not an official party to negotiations. In 1994, a ceasefire agreement was reached. However, occasional shelling and clashes on the border have been ongoing, with a major escalation in April 2016.