Azerbaijan Does Not Consider Armenians Held in Its Territory as Prisoners of War, Claims They Were Illegally Sent from Armenia

Azerbaijan is fulfilling its obligations under the trilateral agreement and has returned all prisoners of war to Armenia. This statement was made by Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov during a joint press conference with the OSCE chair, Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde, during his working visit to Azerbaijan.

Bayramov noted that the Armenians currently held in Azerbaijan are not considered prisoners of war. “I would like to comment once again on the issue of prisoner exchange. The Azerbaijani side has handed over all prisoners of war to the opposing side in accordance with the trilateral declaration. Moreover, their number is significantly higher than the number of prisoners that Armenia has handed over to Azerbaijan. I want to emphasize that the Armenians currently held in Azerbaijan are not considered prisoners of war. They are individuals who were illegally sent to Azerbaijani territory from Armenia after the cessation of hostilities on November 26. They have committed crimes by killing both civilians and military personnel. Azerbaijan is conducting investigative actions against them in accordance with the legislation. To avoid such recurrences, it is important to adhere to the trilateral declaration,” stated Bayramov.