Jan-Erik Enestam: Mine clearance process hampered by Armenia's refusal to hand over all mine maps

Former Finnish Defense Minister Jan-Erik Enestam, who visited Azerbaijan in the summer, has responded to criticism in the Finnish newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet [HBL], Report informs.

In August 2024, Enestam visited Azerbaijan and the liberated territories, which caused a negative assessment in some Finnish media.

In particular, the newspaper had previously spoken negatively about Azerbaijan and called for refraining from traveling to this country.

"I do not remember the editorial board [of HBL] reporting that the EU and Azerbaijan signed a protocol of mutual understanding and strategic partnership in the field of energy cooperation in 2022. I do not remember either HBL reporting on the role of Azerbaijan as a guarantor of Europe's energy supply," Jan-Erik Enestam said.

He noted that the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Finland met in London in June of this year.

In this regard, Enestam pointed out the bias of the newspaper, saying that he "does not remember the editorial board criticizing Alexander Stubb [the President of Finland]" for his desire to visit Azerbaijan in November and take part in COP29.

Enestam noted that in Finland "many do not realize that Armenia has occupied a significant part of Azerbaijani territory for 30 years" and recalled that as a result of the First Karabakh War, hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis became internally displaced persons. The former official also spoke about the mine problem, which complicates the return of internally displaced persons to their homes.

"The demining process is hampered by Armenia's refusal to hand over all mine maps. Hundreds of Azerbaijanis have been either killed or injured by mines," he stressed. In conclusion, Enestam stressed that Finnish citizens, in general, are poorly informed about the situation in the South Caucasus, and the blame for this, in his opinion, lies with the Finnish media.