Moscow welcomes the handover of eight servicemen by Azerbaijan to Armenia on February 7, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at a briefing. Maria Zakharova stressed that it is important to settle this problematic issue of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations as soon as possible, to complete the exchange of detainees, by all for all principle.
Zakharova reminded that since December 2, 2020, a total of 146 people have been returned through the mediation of Russian peacekeepers, 127 to the Armenian side and 19 to the Azerbaijani side.
“We consider it important to make efforts to clarify the fate of those missing during the conflict, we will contribute to it both at the interstate level and as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group,” Zakharova said. During the press conference, the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia stated that Russia is discussing the preservation of cultural and historical heritage during the traditional contacts with official Baku and Yerevan. “We are in favor of organizing a UNESCO mission in the region as soon as possible,” Zakharova said.
“On December 7, 2021, a joint statement by the foreign ministers of Russia, the United States and France called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to continue cooperating under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group to make real progress in the protection of humanitarian, including historical and cultural monuments,” Zakharova stated.
