Trilateral statement mentioned POWs as of that moment – Lavrov

Russia calls on the return of Armenian prisoners of war without preconditions during contacts with Azerbaijan at various levels, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a joint press conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Moscow. He said that the trilateral statement on November 9 referred to the prisoners of war who were in captivity at that time.

“At the moment, the Azeris are holding a significant group of Armenian servicemen, who appeared there in late November, after the announcement came into force, an agreement was reached to stop any hostile action. In his contacts with the Azerbaijani leadership, President Aliyev, as at other levels, we send this signal to our Azerbaijani counterparts, we call for their release without preconditions, because it would be a humanitarian step, a significant step towards building the much-needed trust,” Lavrov said, adding that they will continue to act from those positions, but, in his view, the final decision, in any case, does not depend on them.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said that Armenia has fulfilled its obligation long ago. “On the principle of all for all, Armenia returned all Azerbaijani prisoners of war. We believe that Azerbaijan should return all prisoners of war to other detainees, not only to fulfill its obligations, but also to create an atmosphere of mutual trust. In that atmosphere, it will be possible to move on to further discussions and settlement of all issues, “Mirzoyan said.