During the weekly briefing of Maria Zakharova, the Spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mary Yegoryan, reporter of Armenian Public Television, asked two questions. The first was whether the Russian side has information on how many Armenian prisoners are held in Azerbaijan. The second question referred to the topic of unblocking the roads, discussed during the meeting of the Deputy Prime Ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the developments in this issue.
Zakharova, starting with the last question, advised to follow the document on the results of the meeting of Deputy Prime Ministers, published on the official website of the Russian Government on February 28.
The official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs then referred to the issue of the Armenian POWs.
“The position of the parties on this issue is opposite, we always discuss it. The numbers published by Yerevan change regularly, while other information is given from Baku. In case of a significant difference, we recommend you to contact the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides immediately. As of today, a total of 79 people have been returned through the mediation of Russian peacekeepers, including 63 Armenians and 16 Azerbaijanis” Zakharova said.
She reiterated Russia's position on this issue: the best exchange formula is the “All for all”.
“We hope that the quick solution to this issue will allow the parties to turn the tragic page and focus on moving forward on a positive agenda, including in the economy”, concluded Zakharova.
