US Urges Azerbaijan to Immediately Release All Armenian Prisoners of War and Return to Initial Positions

The US is concerned about recent developments along the international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, including the arrest of several Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces. This was stated in a declaration released by the US Department of State, as reported by Armenpress.

“We urge both sides to urgently and peacefully resolve this incident. We also continue to call on Azerbaijan to immediately release all prisoners of war and other detainees, and remind Azerbaijan of its obligations under international humanitarian law to treat all detainees humanely. The US deems any movement in the unmarked areas between Armenia and Azerbaijan to be provocative and unnecessary. We reject the use of force to delineate the border and call on both sides to return to their previous positions, and to halt military fortifications and landmine placements along the undefined border. In particular, we urge Azerbaijan to move its forces back to their positions as of May 11. We also call on Armenia to relocate its forces to their positions on May 11, and commend statements aimed at achieving this goal. These actions will alleviate tensions and create an environment conducive to a peaceful negotiation process for the urgent delineation of the border. The United States is ready to support these efforts.

The United States calls on both sides to return to substantive negotiations as soon as possible under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group to achieve a long-term political settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” the statement from the US Department of State says.