"Prisoners on the maps of minefields": Baku returned Armenian servicemen to Yerevan
Armenia and Azerbaijan continue the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. On Saturday, the parties held another exchange: Baku returned prisoners to Yerevan in response to the transfer of minefield maps.
On Saturday, June 12, 2021, Azerbaijan handed over 15 detained Armenian soldiers to Armenia. In response, Yerevan handed Baku maps of anti-tank and anti-personnel minefields in the Aghdam region on the border with Georgia. Both sides confirmed the exchange took place.
In Baku, commenting on the exchange, they stressed that the minefield maps will greatly facilitate the clearance of the territory returned by Azerbaijan during the "liberation war" of 2020, as well as accelerate the reconstruction of infrastructure for the return of Azerbaijani IDPs to the region.
Yerevan confirmed the return of 15 prisoners to their homeland and thanked the United States and Georgia for participating in the exchange, acting as mediators. As stated in this regard in Tbilisi, this exchange was being prepared "for several months" with the participation of mediators from Georgia and the United States. According to the Georgian Foreign Minister, David Zalkaliani, Tbilisi and Washington "performed well the role of peacekeepers."
According to Pashinyan, Armenia has previously transferred minefield maps to Azerbaijan through Russia, in particular, through Foreign Minister Lavrov. At the same time, he stressed that Yerevan handed over the cards to Baku "not in exchange for prisoners," but responded "one step at a time."
- Pashinyan said, adding that without the efforts of Russia, the Armenian prisoners might not have returned to their homeland.
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