TODAY.AZ / Politics

Defense minister urges OSCE envoy to take measures for returning body of Azerbaijani soldier

24 January 2017 [15:28] - TODAY.AZ

By Azernews


By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov noted the importance of taking specific and serious measures to return the body of Azerbaijani soldier killed by Armenian Armed Forces.

Hasanov made the remark on January 23 as he received the personal representative of the OSCE chairman, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.

The minister criticized Armenia’s refusal to return the body of Azerbaijani soldier Chingiz Gurbanov, who was killed during suppressing Armenian provocation on the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border on December 29, 2016.

Ambassador Kasprzyk assured that additional measures will be undertaken in this regard and expressed confidence that the issue will be resolved in the possible shortest time.

The sides also discussed the latest situation on the contact line of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops and violations of the ceasefire.

A reconnaissance group of the Armenian Armed Forces attempted to violate the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border on December 29, 2016. The Armenian group found itself in the ambush of the Azerbaijani army while violating the borders and suffered heavy losses. During the fighting, Azerbaijani serviceman Chingiz Gurbanov went missing. Later, it was clarified that he was killed by the Armenian Armed Forces and his body remained on the territory controlled by the Armenian Armed Forces.

The Azerbaijani side officially appealed to the Azerbaijani representation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), OSCE Minsk Group, as well as the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk in order to return the body. Despite this, the body of Azerbaijani soldier has still not been returned.

Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal, but they have not been enforced to this day.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/politics/158000.html

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