This Step Will Aid Reconciliation: Arsenyan

The release of Armenian captives held in Azerbaijan will greatly aid the reconciliation between Yerevan and Baku. This was stated by Armenia’s Ambassador to Russia, Gurgen Arsenyan, after a ceremony to present credentials.

"Remaining questions regarding detained individuals should be directed to the Azerbaijani side. If Yerevan and Baku are on the path to signing a peace treaty and are preparing to announce to the world that the two states, and two nations, will live peacefully and in cooperation, then they must start with steps that can be assessed," he said.

The ambassador declined to comment on a separate inquiry about the unlawfully detained former Russian businessman Ruben Vardanyan in Azerbaijan, noting that for Yerevan, there is no distinction between its citizens.