How Many Azerbaijani Prisoners of War Are There in Armenia? - Hraparak

Hraparak newspaper reports: Maria Zakharova, a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, recently offered Armenia and Azerbaijan to exchange prisoners of war on the basis of the principle 'everyone for everyone.' Currently, there are still prisoners in Azerbaijan from the 2020 war, estimated to be around 80 individuals. Following the events of September 19, former presidents of Artsakh Bako Sahakyan, Arkadi Ghukasian, Arayik Harutyunyan, former commander of the Defense Army General Lyova Mnatsakanyan, former deputy commander of the Defense Army Davit Manukyan, former state minister of Artsakh Ruben Vardanyan, former foreign minister David Babayan, and National Assembly president Davit Ishkhanian were taken captive.

We tried to clarify with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs whether there are currently any Azerbaijani prisoners of war in Armenia that could be exchanged under Zakharova's proposed framework. The Ministry informed us that Armenia has no Azerbaijani prisoners of war, meaning that all of them have been handed over since the end of the war. However, when asked how many Azerbaijani convicts are in Armenia's correctional facilities, the Ministry did not respond, stating that one must contact the competent authority.

It is noteworthy that the last time two Azerbaijani terrorists were sentenced in Armenia, one of whom, Huseyn Akhundov, had killed a guard at ZPMK. It is possible that these two Azerbaijani individuals are the only ones currently in Armenia.

Details can be found in today’s issue of the newspaper.