ROSTOV-ON-DON, December 9. / TASS /. All Azerbaijani servicemen, captured during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, have been returned with the help of Russian peacekeepers, while efforts on releasing the Armenian soldiers are in progress, Deputy Commander of the Southern Military District Rustam Muradov told TASS on Thursday.

"Currently, all Azerbaijani servicemen have been returned, and work on releasing the Armenian prisoners of war is being carried out. There is a positive [development], and we have an understanding. I believe that this matter needs to be put to rest. And the Russian peacekeepers will complete this process," the deputy commander emphasized.

The senior military official also stressed that he viewed the effort on releasing the POWs as the civil duty of peacekeepers.

"As a military man, I understand who the prisoners of war are, what they felt like while in captivity. I remember my first flight to Baku and after my return, I saw the faces of those who had already come back to Yerevan <…>. They were in tears and did not believe that they had returned home," Muradov said.

Intense clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia flared up on September 27, 2020, in Nagorno-Karabakh. On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in the conflict zone, which facilitated a complete cessation of hostilities. According to the deal, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides maintained the positions that they had held. In addition, several regions came under Baku’s control and Russian peacekeepers were deployed to the region.