Continuous Incarceration of Armenian Prisoners as Hostages Disrupts Implementation of Agreements in Trilateral Statement: Armenian Foreign Ministry

Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan responded to journalists' questions regarding remarks made by Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov after negotiations with Sweden's Foreign Minister and OSCE Chair Anne Lind.

Question: Bayramov stated in a press briefing that Azerbaijan has handed over all prisoners of war to the Armenian side, in accordance with its obligations, following military operations and prior. Please provide your commentary on this statement.

Answer: This is yet another fabrication by the Azerbaijani side regarding this urgent humanitarian issue. The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister's statement contradicts other authorized bodies in that country, which have confirmed the presence of dozens of Armenian prisoners of war in Azerbaijan, captured both during military operations and after the ceasefire was established.

Azerbaijan has also failed to provide information about Armenian prisoners of war to the European Court of Human Rights, which is handling this matter in the inter-state case of “Armenia v. Azerbaijan.” Recently, the court decided to notify the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe about this, emphasizing that Azerbaijan has repeatedly violated deadlines set by the European court and has not provided complete information. Currently, interim measures are being applied against Azerbaijan concerning 188 Armenian prisoners of war. I must emphasize that non-compliance with interim measures is tantamount to a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Additionally, I would like to point out that the 8th clause of the statement from November 9, 2020, pertains to all prisoners of war and other individuals held in hostage status, and statements of this kind by the Azerbaijani side indicate a deliberate failure to implement that trilateral statement. The continuous incarceration of Armenian prisoners as hostages disrupts the implementation of the agreements outlined in the trilateral statement.