We never had such a large-scale return of captives in the past, Pashinyan says

Panorama, Armenia
Jan 20 2021

MP from opposition Bright Armenia faction Gevorg Gorgisyan raised on Wednesday the question about the return of Armenian prisoners and other detainees held in Azerbaijan. Gorgisyan's remarks came at the National Assembly during the Q/A session with cabinet members, when he posed a question to PM Pashinyan. 

"On January 11, we saw that You, Mr. Prime Minister, are  incapable to defend the interests of the Republic of Armenia. Considering this, why don't you leave your post to enable other forces to continue the talks?" Gorgisyan asked, speaking of the long-delayed issue of the return of Armenian prisoners kept in Azerbaijan. 

In response, the Prime Minister noted that there has been Armenian captives in Azerbaijan for many years. "We never had such a large-scale return of captives in the past," he said, referring to the first exchange of the PoWs between Armenian and Azerbaijani sides after the 44-day war. 

The PM next wondered why the issue had never been raised in the parliament before.  

Gorgisyan responded to the PM's remarks: "Mr. Pashinyan, You are the one who signed a document on November 9, containing a provision about the exchange of captives. You have failed thus far to implement your agreement. You are not capable to serve the Armenian interests. Before leaving for Russia, you announced about the prisoners' issue being a priority for Armenia, however, you failed to meet that priority."

The opposition MP noted that Pashinyan tries to justify his failures through the failures of others, and by doing so, again resorts to 'cheap manipulations' and goes against the Armenian interests.