ArmInfo. In an interview with the National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukrain, Armenian Ambassador to Kyiv Vladimir Karapetyan raised the issue of Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan.
Vladimir Karapetyan noted that Azerbaijan claims that 38 Armenian servicemen are in captivity, while the Armenian side believes that there are another 26 servicemen also in captivity. Vladimir Karapetyan noted that Azerbaijan claims that there are 38 Armenian servicemen in captivity, while the Armenian side is convinced that the number of servicemen in captivity is 26 more than indicated.
The ambassador stressed that there was an agreement at the highest level that the exchange of prisoners should be based on the principle: "all for all." The Armenian side handed over all the prisoners, even criminals convicted under completely different articles, including murder. According to the ambassador, the Armenian side has relevant documentary evidence, video recordings, as well as testimonies of prisoners who have already returned to Armenia. Karapetyan added that the Azerbaijani side released part of the Armenian servicamen in exchange for maps of minefields. "The leadership of Armenia, as a manifestation of goodwill, handed over maps of minefields that we had at our disposal since the 1990s, since the first Karabakh war," the ambassador explained, "Armenpress" reports. The diplomat emphasized that the handed over maps significantly reduced the number of people who died due to landmines.
"Despite the fact that Azerbaijan publicly and repeatedly complained about some inaccuracy of these maps, however, after their transfer, the number of explosions significantly decreased, there were only one or two accidents. Our maps are quite accurate, but the elapsed time must also be taken into account," he concluded.
It is worth noting that the exact number of prisoners of war and civilians held in Azerbaijani captivity after the large-scale military aggression of Azerbaijan against Artsakh in the fall of 2020 is still not known. According to experts, there are several hundred of them. Baku confirms that there are 38 prisoners of war. Armenian prisoners of war and civilians are subjected to inhuman treatment and torture in captivity. Many of them have been sentenced to long-term prison terms in fabricated criminal cases.