The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Azerbaijan has literally started bargaining over the matter of Armenian captives, not even trying to hide the speculative nature of its own statements.

“Regarding the claim of the presence of Armenian prisoners of war on the territory of Azerbaijan, it should be noted that Azerbaijan in many cases unilaterally returned prisoners of war captured during the war [in 2020] to Armenia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan stated in response to Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan,” APA reports.

"Coming to the group of Armenian servicemen sent by Armenia to commit military provocations on the territory of Azerbaijan after the war, it is known to the Armenian leadership that they are not prisoners of war. Despite the fact that Azerbaijan, in a show of goodwill returned almost half of this group to Armenia, Armenia refused to return 2 Azerbaijani servicemen who lost their way and passed into Armenia through a fabricated trial process, thereby undermining confidence-building efforts," the Azerbaijan MFA added.

To note, however, the Armenian captives, who are called by Azerbaijan "the group of Armenian servicemen sent by Armenia to commit military provocations," have been held in custody for about three years. In the meantime, one of the "lost" Azerbaijani soldiers is accused of murder.