Azerbaijan responded to a goodwill gesture of the Armenian side’s readiness to transfer two Azerbaijani prisoners of war with its uncompromising style.

In response, Azerbaijan agreed to transfer only one civilian to the Armenian side, while there are 6 Armenian civilians and 6 servicemen in that country.

Armen Kaprielyan, head of a working group at the Armenian Commission on POWs, Missing Person and Hostages told Armenian News-NEWS, that the civilian is most likely to be the resident of Tavush region Arthur Badalyan. Badalyan was kidnapped in early 2009, but the Azerbaijani side had been refuting reports on his location in Azerbaijan till November 2010. Azerbaijan confirmed the information that Badalyan was a captive in Azerbaijan.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am reported previously, six Armenian POWs and six civilians are in Azerbaijan. The Armenian citizens are members of one family. They are Yeghishe, Ruzanna, Alfred, Gayane, and Petros Gevorgyans. Recently, it has become clear another young Armenian is also prisoner in Azerbaijan.

According to Azeri mass media, six Armenian servicemen are prisoners in Azerbaijan: Hrant Markosyan, Alik Tevosyan, Artur Sargsyan, Ohan Harutyunyan, Gevorg Tovmasyan and Karen Harutyunyan.

Upon the invitation of the President of the Russian Federation, the Presidents of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan met on March 5, 2011 in Sochi and discussed in detail the process and the prospects of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution.

1. To conclude in the shortest possible period of time the exchange of the prisoners of war,

2. To strive to solve all contentious issues through peaceful means and to conduct along the cease-fire line an investigation with the participation of the parties under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and with the assistance of the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office regarding probable incidents.

The Presidents stressed the importance of their regular meetings on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and agreed to continue them in the present format and further to the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group.