Armenian President Armen Sargsyan has asked Russian leader Vladimir Putin to help the return home of the prisoners of war being held by Azerbaijan.
"The letter addressed to Putin particularly says that Armenian society and the Diaspora are deeply concerned about the situation around the Azerbaijani captive servicemen and civilians," Sargsyan wrote on his website.
According to the Armenian leader, the mediation of the Russian President will be a great help in resolving this extremely sensitive issue.
Battles in Nagorno-Karabakh started on September 27. Baku and Yerevan laid the responsibility for the escalation of the conflict, which has been going on since the late 1980s, on each other. In Armenia, the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan announced full or partial mobilization, the conflict participants accused each other of shelling, and civilian casualties were reported.
On November 10 Putin, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia signed a joint statement on the complete cessation of hostilities. According to it, the Azerbaijani and Armenian military stops at occupied positions and exchanges prisoners. Armenia must return the Kelbajar, Lachin and Agdam districts to Azerbaijan. Russian peacekeepers are stationed along the line of contact and the Lachin corridor connecting Karabakh with Armenia.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of Armenia
Based on materials from RIA Novosti