Issue with prisoners of war already resolved, topic closed – Azerbaijani FM

BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 8

By Elchin Mehdiyev – Trend:

The issue of prisoners of war has already been resolved, this topic is closed, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said.

Bayramov made the remark at the joint press conference with OIC Secretary-General Yousef Bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen, Trend reports on April 8.

Minister noted that Azerbaijan realizes its responsibility in the system of international relations.

“Azerbaijan also demonstrated its responsible position after the November 10 statement. After this, the Azerbaijani side handed over more than 70 prisoners of war to Armenia, and Armenia returned 12 prisoners of war. The issue raised by Armenia currently arose about a month after November 10. As a result of provocations and the deployment of Armenian servicemen in the territories controlled by the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan in accordance with the agreement of November 10, four Azerbaijani servicemen were killed and one civilian was injured,” he said.

Jeyhun Bayramov stressed that as a result of the operation carried out by Azerbaijan, this group of Armenian military forces was neutralized, and 62 people were detained.

“As a result of the investigation, it was established that these people were deployed on the territory of Azerbaijan on November 26. Almost all of them are from the Shirak region of Armenia. They have committed a crime.

To call a person a prisoner of war, military operations must take place, otherwise they must be called terrorists. We informed international organizations about this, stressing that these actions pose a serious threat to security in the region, and noted the need to exert serious pressure on Armenia in this regard,” he said.

Minister added that according to the trilateral statement, the Armenian military should have left the territory of Azerbaijan unconditionally, but it can still be observed that Armenia is trying to deploy troops on Azerbaijani lands.

“Parents in Armenia also talk about attempts to place their children on the territory of Azerbaijan at night on civilian transport under the guise of conducting construction work. The Azerbaijani side provided information in this regard to the relevant international organizations,” he said.