Artsakh leaders in a Baku court during their sham trial

Foreign Minister ‘Honestly’ Does Not Understand Why Baku Does Not Want to Release Armenian Captives

A proposal to engage third countries that can negotiate the release of Armenian captives being held in Azerbaijan has not worked, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan told reporters on Wednesday.

“It hasn’t worked. Do you think there is a possibility to resolve this issue through a third country, and that we aren’t pursuing it? We are the ones most invested in this. We have reached out to third countries; either they declined, or [Baku] has told them to stay out of it,” Mirzoyan said when pressed by an Azatutyun.am reporter on the matter.

At the same time, Mirzoyan emphasized that “the continued detention of these individuals does not contribute to peace in any way—if anything, it does the opposite.”

“Our efforts to secure the release of everyone involved never cease. The reason I cannot say with certainty or a guarantee that it will happen is that this is something beyond our control,” Mirzoyan said.

Last week, attorney Siranush Sahakyan, who represents the Armenian captives at the European Court of Human Rights, said in a presentation that the Armenian government has not provided any details about the third country proposal, since it had announced earlier this year that Yerevan was actively pursuing such a scenario.

Sahakyan wondered whether Switzerland, which had agreed to act in this capacity, was approached by Yerevan.

Sahakyan also said during her remarks last week that HyePost, Armenia’s national postal service, was refusing to process mail and packages from relatives of those being held captive in Baku, emphasizing that not receiving correspondence or visits by relatives, further isolated the POWs in Azerbaijan.

Mirzoyan said Wednesday that he believes that correspondence addressed to the Armenian prisoners held in Baku should reach their recipients.

Mirzoyan added that these letters should be forwarded to their addressees, and all persons deprived of their liberty have the right to communication and visits regardless of the status and terminology used.

He told reporters he “honestly” does not understand why Azerbaijani authorities are not releasing the Armenian captives and emphasized that the presence of Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan does not contribute to peace, “and efforts to secure their release have not stopped.”

“Azerbaijan’s authorities present certain rationalizations that are not very comprehensible to me,” Mirzoyan noted.