ARMENIAN SERVICEMAN CAPTURED BY AZERIS APR 1

YEREVAN, APRIL 6. ARMINFO. An Armenian serviceman, 20, was captured
by the Azeri side in Noyemberyan district (Armenia) Apr 1, says
the international task group for missings, hostages and POWs in the
Karabakh conflict zone.

The group hopes that the Azeri side will be constructive in the
matter and will return the serviceman immediately after inspection in
compliance with the agreements signed in Tbilisi Mar 18. The group
says that it has warned the Nagorno Karabakh Republic authorities
that groundless delays in returning POWs might provoke counter-action
from the opposite side. “We regret to have proved to be right and
are urging again the NKR authorities to give back Hayal Abdulaev,
Hiqmet Tagiev and Ruslan Bakirov to ICRC,” says the group noting that
it sees no grounds for holding the Azeri soldiers for so long and
that this situation is preventing contacts by those responsible for
liberating POWs and finding missing people in the conflict zone. As
a public structure the group has no right to demand reporting from
the Armenian and Azeri sides but the latter have trusted the group
so far. The co-chair of the group Bernhard Klasen has repeatedly
inquired Arkady Ghoukassyan and other NKR top officials
about the Azeri POWs and received assurances of early release.

“The Mar 18 Tbilisi meeting of the Armenian and Azeri state committees
for POWs and MIAs has determined ways of further cooperation at a new
level. We hoped that NKR experts will shortly join in and get into
touch with their Azeri counterparts,” says the group noting that the
more time passes before the Azeri POWs are released the smaller the
mutual confidence is. Counter-actions will not only complicate the
general situation but will also harm those who are captured and may
be captured in the future. The group is ready to mediate the return
of the POWs to facilitate further contacts between the sides.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress