Two months after hostilities ended in Karabakh, the whereabouts of many Armenian soldiers and civilians detained in Azerbaijan remains unclear, with relatives concerned that Yerevan is not doing enough to locate them.
The ceasefire agreement signed on November 9 by Yerevan, Baku and Moscow did not specify the time frame for implementing the “exchange of prisoners of war and other detainees.”
Yerevan and Baku recently announced that this would be carried out based on the “all for all” principle. According to official information, this means that even those who were captured before the second Karabakh war, which broke out on September 27, are eligible for exchange.
First Nikol Pashinyan, then Mikayel Minasyan “exposed” that Baku has not signed the agreement on stationing Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh. Mikayel Minasyan said Baku puts forth 3 additional clauses to the regulations for peacekeepers which they want to have included in the agreement. Those clauses are:
No Armenian troops in Artsakh because the land is Azerbaijani. The Azerbaijani troops are there legitimately, the Russian troops upon Azerbaijan’s consent. And there must be no Armenian troops, neither Armenian armed forces, nor the Defense Army of Artsakh;
All the visits of officials of Armenia visiting Artsakh must be agreed with the Azerbaijani side in some way;
Provocations
Russia has not seen any provocations against its peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an in interview with TASS on Wednesday. The situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone tends to be normalizing, Lavrov noted. We are glad to see that Baku and Yerevan are determined to meet their commitments and work towards stabilizing the overall situation. I would like to note that the sides showed a high ability to cooperate in terms of ironing out issues emerging on the ground. Russia, in its turn, keeps fulfilling the function of a ceasefire guarantor in a responsible and effective way. No provocations against the Russian peacekeepers have been seen.
Defense Ministry Loses Contact with Soldiers
Azeris Blockade Russian Peacekeepers, Claims Pashinyan
Tensions Mount for Residents of Shushi-Adjacent Villages
The fate of more than 70 Artsakh Armed Forces soldiers is unknown after Azerbaijani forces continue an armed standoff in Artsakh’s Hadrut district, which began late last week when they attacked the Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd villages in an effort to seize them.
Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan on Wednesday, in an address to the nation, confirmed that “several doze” Artsakh soldiers were taken captive by Azerbaijani soldiers around the Khtsaberd village. He also said that the Artsakh Defense ministry was attempting to “clarify” all circumstances.
ANCA Action Alert after Azeri forces attack Hadrut
Urges immediate block on U.S. security aid to Azerbaijan; $250 million in emergency aid to Artsakh
WASHINGTON The Armenian National Committee of America renewed calls for zeroing out military aid to Azerbaijan and sending $250 million in U.S. assistance to Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) in the aftermath of Azerbaijan’s latest attack on Artsakh – it’s first major ceasefire violation following the disastrous Russia-brokered November 9th agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
On December 11, Azerbaijani forces attacked Artsakh’s southern Hadrut villages of Hin Tagher and Khtsabert, injuring three Armenian soldiers and raising questions about the future status and security of these Armenian villages and the nearby 4th-century Katarovank Monastery. An Armenian civilian was also reportedly captured by Azerbaijani forces.