Putin, Help Us Bring Back Our Children: Relatives of Missing and Fallen Soldiers Hold Protest

On November 23, relatives of missing and fallen soldiers held a protest at Republic Square in Yerevan. They demand that both the authorities and international actors return their captured or missing sons.

The protestors marched towards the Russian Embassy, holding placards in both Russian and Armenian that read: "Putin, bring back our boys", "Do not allow the brotherhood between Armenia and Russia to collapse", "Return Armenian prisoners from Azerbaijan", "The missing are hostages in Aliyev's hands", "The 8th point of the November 9 statement is not being implemented, take action", "Vladimir Vladimirovich, help us bring back our children".

Participants of the action blocked Zakyan Street in front of the Russian Embassy.

Arsen Ghukasyan, a relative of a fallen soldier, told reporters that their demand is to quickly clarify the status of the missing boys and to return them immediately. "We have been preparing for Putin's visit for three days. Since Russia is the third party in the November 9 statement and the 8th point has not been implemented to this day, our demand is for him to be consistent and use all means to resolve the issue of our children’s return. Our call is directed not only at him but to everyone,” he said.

“A few days ago, we sent a letter to Putin's office asking him to find time during his visit to meet with 3-4 parents and listen to our concerns directly. They responded that the letter was addressed to the Russian Foreign Ministry and that they would notify us,” Ghukasyan added.