Having released Elnur Huseynzada, [Azerbaijan's breakaway] Nagorno-Karabakh ruled out the release or exchange of other Azerbaijani citizens Sahbaz Quliyev and Dilqam Asgarov [detained in 2014 and sentenced to 22 years in prison and life imprisonment respectively], who were convicted for extremely grievous crimes. At the same time, the foreign ministry of the unrecognised republic noted that Azerbaijan should address directly the government of Nagorno-Karabakh regarding such issues. Both the ruling party and the opposition described as absurd the idea of exchanging Quliyev and Asgarov for Armenian prisoners kept in Azerbaijan.
Kavkazsky Uzel wrote that Azerbaijani prisoner of war Elnur Huseynzada served his two-year sentence in Nagorno-Karabakh and was released. According to the prosecutor's office of Artsakh, he asked to transfer him not to Azerbaijan, but to a third country. Azerbaijan has put him on the wanted list on charges of high treason.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry expects that Armenia will release Dilqam Asgarov and Sahbaz Quliyev like it released Elnur Huseynzada.
"We would like Armenia to release Dilqam Asgarov and Sahbaz Quliyev," Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Leyla Abdullayeva told the Interfax-Azerbaijan agency on 5 February.
Artak Nersisyan, the head of the department for information and ties with the public of the Artsakh foreign ministry, commented on the statement of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, which says that Azerbaijan expects Armenia to release two more Azerbaijani citizens – Sahbaz Quliyev and Dilqam Asgarov.
Nersisyan believes that "Azerbaijan's appeal to Armenia is baseless".
"As regards the Azerbaijani criminals convicted in Artsakh, Baku should definitely directly address Stepanakert, which expressed readiness back in December of the past year to consider as a gesture of free will within the frames of law the possibility of the early release of citizen Elnur Huseynzada, who has not committed a grievous or extremely grievous crime on the territory of Artsakh," Nersisyan told Tert.am.
Nersisyan noted that "issues related to persons, who committed grievous crimes, are considered at another level".
He reminded that Asgarov and Quliyev "were found guilty of kidnapping and killing a minor because of ethnic hatred and a number of other crimes".
"At the same time, the Artsakh republic foreign ministry urged Baku to take a step from the opposite direction and free Armenian hostages kept in Azerbaijan, first and foremost those, who have obvious health problems," he noted, adding that "the Azerbaijani side rejected the proposal".
Artsakh justice minister Ararat Daniyelyan also said previously that it was impossible to exchange Asgarov and Quliyev.
Helsinki Initiative-92 Committee Head Karen Ohanjanyan told Kavkazsky Uzel that representatives of the committee periodically visited the Azerbaijani citizens in the penitentiary facility and that they were kept in conditions corresponding to international standards.
A representative of the opposition National Revival party of Artsakh, Tigran Grigoryan, described Azerbaijan's statement as "ridiculous".
"Any proposal to exchange or release the criminals is simply absurd," the political analyst told Kavkazsky Uzel on 11 February.
He noted that "I agree with the foreign ministry that Azerbaijan should apply" to the Artsakh government.
"However, I do not think that the foreign ministry or the government of Artsakh intend to seriously discuss the exchange of Azerbaijani saboteurs for anyone, but I agree with this as a principle, particularly as Armenian Prime Minister [Nikol Pashinyan] said that Artsakh must represent its own interests," Grigoryan noted.
"Azerbaijan has the right to make statements it wants to make, but it is another thing that they are absurd," said PhD in history Arevik Petrosyan, the chair of Vita, a civic organisation for assisting wounded fighters of the Artsakh army.
"Azerbaijani citizens Asgarov and Quliyev committed crimes against the people of Artsakh and they are punished for that," she told Kavkazsky Uzel.
As regards the comments of the Artsakh foreign ministry, Petrosyan noted that "it does not matter, who Azerbaijan addresses".
"I cannot see any difference here. I think that the statement by Azerbaijan was addressed to Armenians in general and Asgarov and Quliyev committed crimes against the Armenian people," she said.
"It is incorrect to compare crimes committed by Elnur Huseynzada with the crimes committed by saboteurs Asgarov and Quliyev," said Artur Tovmasyan, the head of the Homeland faction in the Artsakh national assembly.
"Huseynzada crossed the state border, but admitted his guilt, while Asgarov and Quliyev penetrated for sabotage purposes, committed a number of other crimes, and are guilty of the deaths of people, including a minor. Therefore, they were convicted in strict conformity with the law. So it is extremely immoral … [ellipsis as published] to speak about the possibility of their release or exchange," he told Kavkazsky Uzel.
The politician also thinks that on this problem, Azerbaijan should address the Artsakh government, not Armenia.