Lieutenant General Rustam Muradov, the commander of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, personally negotiated the exchange of prisoners. As a result of the reached agreements, 12 prisoners of war were returned to Azerbaijan and 44 to Armenia, Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said.
"Lieutenant General R.U. Muradov, the commander of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, has been conducting intensive negotiations with representatives of the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides for two weeks on the principle of the "all for all" exchange of prisoners. On December 14, as a result of agreements reached, an exchange of prisoners of war took place. Personal commander of the Russian peacekeeping forces handed over 12 people to the Azerbaijani side, and 44 people to the Armenian side," Konashenkov stated.
He noted that the commander of the Russian peacekeeping contingent delivered them home to Baku and Yerevan, respectively, on a Russian Air Force plane.
"Russian peacekeepers continue to assist in collecting information about those missing during the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. In order to clarify information, officers of Russian peacekeeping forces processed 480 telephone calls received through the hotline, more than 2,100 meetings with citizens were held," Konashenkov added.
The return of refugees is also continuing. More than 825 refugees returned to Karabakh from the territory of Armenia within a day, more than 39 thousand people in total during the period of the peacekeeping operation.
On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the full cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the agreements, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides stop at their occupied positions and Russian peacekeepers are deployed in the region.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense
Based on materials from TASS