Observer Report
Bako
According to Azerbaijan’s State Commission for Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons, the bodies of 30 Armenian servicemen were unilaterally transferred to Armenia in the direction of Alibeyli village. This was done the other day through the mediation of the OSCE and the International Committee of the Red Cross with the participation of the Defense Ministry of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
A day earlier, 85-year-old Yevgeniya Babayan, a civilian who was left helpless in the war zone, was handed over to the opposite side on the Georgian-Armenian border as well.
These steps, taken unilaterally upon the instruction of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, are an indicator of Azerbaijan’s good intentions, as well as the value it attaches to international humanitarian law and humanism principles, says a press release.
Nevertheless, the Armenian side once again demonstrated its inhuman behaviour by refusing, at the last moment, to receive 84-year-old Armenian civilian Misha Melkumyan.
We underline that even though Armenia has obstructed the exchange of bodies as well as military prisoners on both sides by grossly violating the humanitarian ceasefire for three times, Azerbaijan instead has taken a unilateral humanitarian step.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has played an exceptional role in the realization of this humanitarian step by the Azerbaijani side.
Meanwhile, the meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia in Geneva has ended.
During the meeting, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov presented Azerbaijan’s position on resolving the conflict on the basis of norms and principles of international law, as well as UN Security Council resolutions and decisions and documents of international organizations.
Speaking about humanitarian measures, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov stressed the constructive approach of Azerbaijan.
