Azerbaijan has returned eight Armenian servicemen to Armenia, the republic's state commission for prisoners of war, hostages and missing citizens said on Monday.
"Azerbaijan, being guided by the principles of humanism, returned eight Armenian servicemen to Armenia on February 7. Part of them was detained during the suppression of provocation of Armenian Armed Forces in Kelbajar direction of state border on November 16, 2021," the statement said.
The state commission noted that in response to this humanitarian step Armenia "must transfer data to Baku regarding the Azerbaijani military and civilians killed during the first Armenian-Azerbaijani war (early 1990s - TASS) and, presumably, buried in mass graves, as well as the places of such mass graves".
The report says that the issue was raised by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the February 4 online meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Council President Charles Michel. "The Armenian side has pledged to cooperate on this issue," the state commission said in a statement.
Aggravation of the situation on the border
On November 16, intense fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces took place in the border areas of Armenia's Syunik region. Yerevan said the Azerbaijani military launched an offensive deep into Armenian territory. The state highway connecting the capital of Armenia with the southern regions of the country and Iran was under threat. Baku put the blame on Armenia, accusing the Armenian armed forces of provocation. According to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, Armenian servicemen attacked Azerbaijani posts.
In connection with these events, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held telephone conversations with his counterparts from Armenia and Azerbaijan alternately. The press service of the Russian defense ministry said that after that the Azerbaijani and Armenian defense ministers took measures to stabilize the situation on the border and the situation normalized.
Last December, Azerbaijan handed over to Armenia a total of 25 Armenian soldiers detained during the November 16 fighting on the border. The transfers were carried out at different times with the mediation of Russia, the European Union and Hungary.
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Based on materials from TASS