No Deliberate Delays in the Exchange of Prisoners and Bodies in Nagorno-Karabakh, Lavrov Says

Today, a meeting of the CSTO Foreign Ministers took place, the results of which were summarized by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Lavrov announced that the topic of Nagorno-Karabakh was also discussed.

The Russian side reported on the measures being taken by Russia to implement the provisions agreed upon in the statement made by the leaders of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan on November 9.

“The deployment of Russian peacekeepers was carried out with bilateral agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. There have been no other ideas,” Lavrov stated.

He also addressed the issue regarding the exchange of bodies of those killed and prisoners after the Nagorno-Karabakh war. “We understand that this issue concerns both the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides. According to the statement signed on November 9, the parties appealed to the ICRC to support the prompt, problem-free, and effective resolution of this issue. Russia is actively advocating for it,” Lavrov said.

“Moreover, when our peacekeepers were deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh, one of the main tasks was the exchange of the bodies of those killed and prisoners. The number of such individuals is not small in the context of the cessation of hostilities. We are interested in this humanitarian issue being resolved as quickly as possible. For this, our peacekeepers have initiated clear steps,” he added.

This issue is continually raised by Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Effective exchange of bodies and prisoners is necessary. Documentation is essential in this matter. Certainly, both sides need to have clear names of the missing persons for a more concrete and clear handling of this issue. Taking into account the terrain and the developments of military operations, it is very difficult to address this issue immediately after the cessation of hostilities, especially when there are no precise lists of the missing,” Lavrov noted.

Lavrov further indicated that with the activation of ICRC's operations in Nagorno-Karabakh, the resolution of this issue would accelerate. The ICRC has already returned its personnel to Nagorno-Karabakh and intends to significantly increase its presence in the region, bringing the total to 400, as in Yerevan, Baku, and Nagorno-Karabakh. It also plans to significantly increase its funding demands for operations in the region to reach 45 million Swiss francs.

According to Lavrov, they do not see deliberate delays in this process, but rather just objective difficulties.