The Armenian foreign ministry has repeatedly stated on various platforms about raising the matter of the return of Armenians held in the Azerbaijani capital city, Baku. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Armenia, Robert Abisoghomonyan, stated this, commenting on the question of whether this matter could be raised within the framework of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) to be held in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, soon.

According to Abisoghomonyan, this matter can be discussed also within the framework of bilateral meetings with high-ranking delegations arriving in Armenia to attend COP17. At the same time, he emphasized that the matter of return of Armenians held in Azerbaijan primarily concerns the humanitarian agenda and is being discussed within the framework of relevant organizations.

"As for the [Armenian] persons detained in Baku, as you know, and as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs [of Armenia] has repeatedly stated in its public statements, this matter is raised at various platforms; in particular, during meetings at specialized and sectoral platforms. COP17 is mainly dedicated to the environmental agenda.

It is possible that these matters will also be discussed within the framework of bilateral meetings with high-level delegations arriving at COP17. However, this is primarily a humanitarian issue, which is discussed within the framework of relevant humanitarian organizations," noted the deputy minister of foreign affairs and international trade of Armenia.