Azerbaijani citizen of Artsakh Toros Ghazaryan was taken under the control of Azerbaijani Armed Forces in Chartar administrative region, Azerbaijan's thesis is false, staged, the Artsakh National Security Service reported, commenting on the video spread in Azerbaijani social networks.

"On January 1, Toros Ghazaryan, a resident of Chartar city of Martuni district of the Republic of Artsakh engaged in cattle breeding, did not return home from a pasture, in connection with which operational and investigative measures were initiated. As there was a high probability that the latter, having health problems, might have lost his way and crossed the territory controlled by the Azerbaijani armed forces, the leadership of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Artsakh was also informed about it in order to get information from the Azerbaijani side.

From January 1 until today, the Azerbaijani side has not only failed to confirm but also denied that T. Ghazaryan was under its control. In order not to put the life and health of our citizen in danger, we continued the negotiations with the Azerbaijani side through peacekeepers without publicity, as a result of which today Azerbaijan confirmed the fact of T.Ghazaryan's whereabouts and handed him over to Russian peacekeepers on the blocked Stepanakert-Goris highway, presenting the situation differently, based on the political and propaganda considerations.

T.Ghazaryan, who was handed over to the Artsakh side, has already been examined and doctors assess his condition as satisfactory. Within the scope of criminal proceedings initiated by the law enforcement bodies of Artsakh all measures will be taken to clarify the circumstances of the case.

Today's performance of the Azerbaijani side once again proves that its aim is not to accept reality but to mislead the international community and the domestic audience with false theses and propaganda materials," the statement says.