Negotiations took place between Armenia's Prime Minister's Office and the administration of the President of Azerbaijan, and as a result of these negotiations, this statement was made. Sargis Khandanyan, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations of the National Assembly, said this during the briefing at the Parliament.
He emphasized that there is no record of any other party in the statement, the negotiations took place between the two staffs.
"The statement refers to a very sensitive humanitarian issue - the return of captives, about which we have talked for a long time and many times, and there is an opportunity to negotiate and solve the issue in this format. This is a very important statement and should not be underestimated, but it should also not be overestimated in the logic of the overall negotiation process. What Armenia has continued to say is that it continues to insist that the negotiations on the peace treaty should take place on the basis of the principles that the parties agreed to during the trilateral meeting in July this year, and Armenia also urges other partners, mediating parties to facilitate the negotiations, the continuity on the platforms where they started," the deputy said.
At the request of journalists, he addressed the question of whether the names of 32 captives that are being circulated correspond to reality, and whether there are discussions about the return of high-ranking officials of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.
"I will avoid mentioning any names, first of all, I am not familiar with the details, the lists, besides, this is a very sensitive topic, and until the captives cross Armenia's state border, I would also advise the mass media not to circulate names, because it can be difficult for the relatives of the captives." said Sargis Khandanyan, noting that according to the announcement, this should happen in the near future. "It's a matter of hours, days. If I am not mistaken, the text of the announcement stated that the exchange will take place on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan," he said.
Khandanyan noted that the negotiations between Armenia's Prime Minister's office and the administration of the President of Azerbaijan have been going on for the last few weeks. "We are talking about a short period of time," said the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.
As for the question of returning all the prisoners, the parliamentarian said: "This was part of the process, and there is a certain result related to this process, and Armenia's government will continue to work both diplomatically and through legal diplomacy, so that all prisoners and other detained persons who are in Azerbaijan, as a result of a similar process come back."
The staff of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and the administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan issued a joint statement informing that Azerbaijan will release 32 Armenians and Armenia - 2 Azerbaijani servicemen.
