PACE to discuss the issue of Armenian POWs held in Azerbaijan
YEREVAN, April 20. /ARKA/. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is set to discuss today the issue of Armenian prisoners of war still held in Azerbaijan, Arman Yeghoyan, MP from the ruling My Step faction and chairman of the parliamentary committee on European integration, told a press briefing.
The decision to include this issue on the PACE's plenary session's agenda was backed by 93 votes, 21 delegates voted against and another 18 abstained.
According to Yeghoyan, the Armenian side tried not to politicize the issue of prisoners of war, so as not to turn it into a subject of political negotiations, since it should be resolved within the framework of international humanitarian law.
“However, given Azerbaijan’s attempts to politicize the issue, political pressure should be applied on it to resolve the issue,” Yegoyan said.
Yeghoyan said no resolution is expected to be made after the discussions. 'However, this question may be raised in a different format, which provides for adoption of a resolution,' he said.
"PACE is not a court and even if a resolution is adopted, that will not mean that it will be fully implemented," Yeghoyan said.
The journalists asked him about the position of Russia, since along with Turkey and Azerbaijan, its delegates voted against the inclusion of the issue on PACE session's agenda (some members of the Russian delegations voted against, others abstained).
According to some experts, Russian delegates voted against because the issue of Armenian prisoners was submitted in a package that included also Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's issue.
“Questions regarding the technical voting procedures can be clarified with the members of the Armenian delegation when they return to Yerevan. The main thing is that the issue is on the agenda, and the rest will be explained by the representatives of the Armenian delegation when they are back home,” Yegoyan said.
“The issue of Armenian captives in Azerbaijan can be discussed at various international platforms, and Russia's participation in the process is due to the fact that it is a party to the November 9 statement that ended the war in Nagorno-Karabakh and called for the return of all captives, held by the sides,' Yeghoyan said. -0-