Lithuanian Parliament Members Call on Azerbaijan to Accelerate the Return of Prisoners

Members of the Lithuanian Parliament's Inter-Parliamentary Group with Armenia have issued a statement calling on Azerbaijan to expedite the exchange of remains, prisoners of war, and hostages, as well as their return to Armenia. This was reported by the Armenian Embassy in Lithuania.

The statement particularly reads: "We, the members of the Inter-Parliamentary Group with Armenia in the Seimas, referring to the EU High Representative's statement on Nagorno-Karabakh dated November 19, 2020, the commitment made by the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan at the end of 2020 to exchange prisoners of war and other detained persons based on the 'all for all' principle, the call from the spokesperson of the EU's External Action Service on January 29, 2021, and the February 1, 2021, statement from the Political Assembly of the European People's Party (EPP), as well as taking into account point 8 of the statement by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia on November 10, 2020, calling on Azerbaijan to expedite the exchange of remains, prisoners of war, and hostages, and to immediately halt the criminal cases initiated against them and return them to Armenia.

The immediate and unconditional return of prisoners will be one of the first steps towards restoring a climate of trust between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We also urge EU bodies to consistently raise this humanitarian issue in the context of current and future relations with Azerbaijan."