12:54,

YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS. The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) is in touch with the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides over the repatriation of prisoners of war after the recent war in Nagorno Karabakh, ICRC President Peter Maurer said in an interview to the Russian Izvestia daily, adding that the Committee has increased it mission’s funding in Nagorno Karabakh, rising it to 50 million dollars.

“At the moment our budget is about 4-5 times more than 27 years ago. Earlier our budget was about 10-11 million dollars, but now we are reaching 50 million dollars and have greatly increased our presence in the region. We help the displaced persons, the people who return.

The work connected with the visit to the detainees of both sides and restoration of communication with their families is also very important. If there is a need and opportunities are provided, we will probably continue increasing our presence in this field, but at slower rates because it’s very difficult to get funding for these actions”, the ICRC President said.

Peter Maurer also commented on the process of repatriating the POWs, stating that there is progress on this direction, captives return back home, but noted that the disputes between the sides over the status of some detainees still continue. “We continue dealing with these issues”, he said.

He stated that the ICRC has a direct access to the detainees.

“Baku and Yerevan must solve this issue with each other. We can share our experience, can give advice, but the respective government must decide and set the final status of these persons. We in our turn are in touch with both sides”, Mr. Maurer said.

The ICRC President hopes that the issue with all these people will be solved in the future.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan