Armenian foreign minister demands unconditional release of all Armenian captives held in Azerbaijan
YEREVAN, October 14. /ARKA/. Foreign Ministers of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan Ararat Mirzoyan, Sergey Lavrov and Jeyhun Bayramov had today a meeting in Minsk, Belarus. The meeting was initiated by Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry reported.
It said the foreign ministers discussed a set of issues related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, including the implementation of the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020.
Mirzoyan was said to have highly appreciated the mediation efforts of Russia aimed at ceasefire, and in the context of ensuring the security of the Armenians of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), he attached importance to the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh.
At the same time, the Armenian Foreign Minister drew the attention of the parties to the fact that some provisions of the November 9 statement have not yet been implemented, and in this context he stressed the need for the immediate and unconditional release of all Armenian prisoners of war and other detained persons held in Azerbaijan.
Speaking about the meeting with Azerbaijani counterpart held in New York with the mediation and participation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, Mirzoyan reaffirmed that a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be carried out under the aegis of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship and within the framework of the international mandate given to this format on the basis of principles and elements known to the parties.
According to some sources, as many as 188 Armenian prisoners of war and civilians are still held in Azerbaijan. So far, 105 citizens of Armenia and 16 Azerbaijanis were repatriated. Some of the Armenian prisoners were returned to their homeland through the efforts of the commander of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh, some - through the mediation of the EU, the USA and Georgia.
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 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. -0--
