Baku said to hand Armenian private over to Yerevan amid efforts toward making peace

By Azernews

Ahmad Shahidov, Coordinator for the Information Center for Azerbaijani Captives and Hostages, has said that Baku will return an Armenian serviceman soon, Azernews reports.

The talk is about Armenian private Eduard Martirosov, who was detained by the Azerbaijani border guards, while crossing the state border in Zangilan region on April 23.

On May 25, at a government hour in parliament, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan claimed that Azerbaijan is holding 39 Armenian citizens and Yerevan demands the resolution of this humanitarian issue without any preconditions.

"We now have accurate data that there are 39 prisoners in Azerbaijan. It will be most effective if the international community uses pressure to have our citizens returned," he said.

Armenia seeks the return of all detainees from Azerbaijan. Yerevan has repeatedly stressed that their return is a priority issue at a time when the parties are in talks to make peace in the region.

Baku claims that all Armenian citizens, who were captured during the hostilities in the conflict zone in Karabakh late in 2020 were returned and only "terrorists and saboteurs" are being held.