The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry announced the return of 15 Armenians to their country in exchange for a map showing the locations of 97,000 mines in the west of the country.

The ministry said in a statement on Saturday that Armenia provided Azerbaijan with a map of the spread of 97,000 anti-personnel and anti-armored mines in the city of Agdam, liberated from the Armenian occupation late last year.

She explained that Azerbaijan released 15 Armenian citizens from its prisons and sent them back to their country.

She added that the return of the Armenians took place on the Azerbaijani-Georgian border, expressing its thanks in this context to the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and the Georgian government.

In a related context, the United States of America welcomed Azerbaijan’s release of 15 Armenians.

“Grateful to the Government of Georgia for its vital role in facilitating discussions between the two sides,” Secretary of State Anthony Blinken tweeted. “Such steps will bring the people of the region closer to the peaceful future they deserve.”

On September 27, the Azerbaijani army launched an operation to liberate its occupied lands in the Karabakh region, after an attack by the Armenian army on civilian populated areas.

After fierce battles that lasted 44 days, Russia announced on November 10, 2020, that Azerbaijan and Armenia had reached a ceasefire agreement stipulating that Baku would regain control of the occupied provinces.