Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) can return from Azerbaijani captivity only when the “Armenian statehood is restored”, according to Edgar Ghazaryan, a former chief of staff of the Constitutional Court and Armenia’s former ambassador to Poland.

"Our only compatriot recently released from Azerbaijani captivity is Maral Najarian, who is a citizen of the Republic of Lebanon regardless of her nationality, while Lebanon has a government which is concerned with the fate of its citizens. After her release and return to Lebanon, Maral Najarian was hosted by Lebanese President Michel Aoun on March 20,” Ghazaryan wrote on Facebook.

He recalled that during the meeting, Maral Najarian thanked the president of Lebanon for his efforts to release her.

“Our other compatriots who are citizens of Armenia can be released from [Azerbaijani] captivity only when our statehood is restored and Armenia has a head of state again. No clown who has destroyed the country can resolve such a difficult problem.

“Now we must thank the Russian president, who, amid the absence of our statehood, managed to organize the repatriation of 44 Armenian POWs from Azerbaijan on December 14, 2020 and 5 others on January 28 through the efforts of the head of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Artsakh, Lieutenant General Rustam Muradov,” Ghazaryan said.