Azerbaijan’s refusal to return the Armenian captives aims at discrediting the actions of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno Karaabkh and along the Lachin corridor, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during an online press conference today.

“I say this during meetings with our Russian counterparts, as well. I’m stressing this because more than 90 percent of our compatriots has been taken captive after the deployment of Russian peacekeepers and in the area of their responsibility,” PM Pashinyan said.

‘We continue to raise the issue on international platforms. We have filed cases with international courts and we will be consistent in our efforts to ensure that all captives are repatriated,” he added.

The Prime Minister stressed that Azerbaijan is trying to politicize humanitarian issues and make those a subject of political manipulation.

“This is an anti-humanitarian step, which also goes against the trilateral statement of November 9 and the civilized humanitarian logic, in general,” he added.

As for the number of Armenians kept in Azerbaijani captivity, PM Pashinyan said it’s necessary to distinguish between two groups.

He said in case of 38 people it has been confirmed that they are in Azerbaijan. The second list includes names of people, whose presence in Azerbaijan has not been confirmed.