The issue of returning Armenian POWs illegally held by Azerbaijan is the top priority objective for the Armenian government, Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan said during a press briefing. He said that the authorities are doing everything they can to return the Armenians.
“The prisoners of war should’ve returned a long time ago. But Azerbaijan is refusing to implement the obligations it assumed under false pretexts,” Simonyan said.
The Speaker stressed that the Russian side is approaching this issue the same way – clause 8 of the 2020 November 9 statement implying the return of all captives must be fulfilled unconditionally.
“Today, when we speak about the opening of roads, about relations and peace, we must say one thing all the time, that besides the opening of those roads our prisoners of war must first of all return by those very roads.”
Simonyan said that during his meetings in Russia he had discussions about specific individuals held in Azerbaijani custody.
“We have information about a woman prisoner of war. Unfortunately, the Azerbaijani side is not confirming this information. Today I have a meeting with representatives of the Red Cross and I must discuss this issue. I have great hopes and certainty that in the near future we will perhaps leave the term ‘prisoner of war’ in the past. At least we are doing everything we can, this is a priority issue for us,” he said.
