Lapsin Explains the Purpose of Armenian Prisoners of War for Azerbaijan

“The captivity of Armenian soldiers was necessary for future trade,” wrote the well-known Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapsin on his Facebook page. “One of Azerbaijan's main newspapers, Musavat, states directly that the imprisonment of Armenian soldiers is essential for future trade. The literal translation of the highlighted part of the text is, ‘we will not hold them indefinitely and will return them after the trade.’ It seems that territorial concessions are expected in exchange for the soldiers. Are you surprised by this? Personally, I have always said so.”