YEREVAN, March 3. / ARKA /. The Armenian Foreign Ministry is exploiting numerous channels for the return of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians held in Azerbaijan, Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazyan said in parliament on Wednesday.
He stressed that the repatriation of Armenian captives from Azerbaijan is the number one priority of the Armenian side. He said that an interagency commission was set to deal with this problem, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan.
“Every government agency involved in this matter, including the ministry of foreign affairs is doing their job around the clock,” Ayvazyan said.
Regarding the statements by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that Armenian captives are not POWs but members of sabotage groups, Ayvazyan said politicization of this most important issue is unacceptable from the humanitarian point of view, which is also confirmed by international organizations and leaders of countries and parliaments.
Earlier, Aliyev claimed that Azerbaijan had handed over all Armenian prisoners of war to Yerevan, and those who are held are saboteurs. Ex-ombudsman, head of the Artsakh presidential administration Artak Beglaryan accused the Azerbaijani leader of lying.
Ayvazyan added that more and more leaders of various countries and heads of international organizations are increasing pressure on Azerbaijan in this matter. “Yesterday, the Italian parliament also adopted a resolution calling on Azerbaijan to immediately resolve this important humanitarian issue,” the minister said.
At the same time, he highly appreciated the role of Russia in the process of returning the Armenian prisoners.
“We proceed from the crucial role of Russia in the region through various channels, including at the level of President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu; direct contacts are taking place on these issues and the Russian side is consistently raising this issue before the leadership of Azerbaijan,” said Ayvazyan
At the same time, the minister stressed that he accentuates this issue during his meetings with both the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and ambassadors of the member states of the organization, as well as colleagues from other countries and representatives of international organizations.
“And if you follow this process, it is obvious that this issue becomes problematic for Azerbaijan,” Ayvazyan said.
So far, 69 Armenians, both civilians and soldiers, and 16 Azerbaijanis have been repatriated from both countries as part of exchanges between the two sides.
Armenia and Azerbaijan earlier agreed to “all for all” swap of POWs. However, more than two months after the fighting stopped, Azerbaijan still holds unknown dozens of Armenian prisoners of war.
The Armenian authorities decline demands to disclose the exact number of Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan on the grounds that it is a state secret.
However, according to various sources, there are more than 140 names on the Armenian exchange list. The European Court of Human Rights said it has received requests concerning 228 Armenians held in Azerbaijani captivity.
On September 27, 2020, Azerbaijani armed forces, backed by Turkey and foreign mercenaries and terrorists, attacked Nagorno-Karabakh along the entire front line using rocket and artillery weapons, heavy armored vehicles, military aircraft and prohibited types of weapons such as cluster bombs and phosphorus weapons.
After 44 days of the war, on November 9, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a statement on the cessation of all hostilities. According to the document, the parties stopped at where they were at that time. The town of Shushi, the districts of Agdam, Kelbajar and Lachin were handed over to Azerbaijan, with the exception of a 5-kilometer corridor connecting Karabakh with Armenia.
A Russian peacekeeping contingent was deployed along the contact line in Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor. Internally displaced persons and refugees are returning to Karabakh and adjacent regions, prisoners of war, hostages and other detained persons and bodies of the dead are being exchanged.–0-