The delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will close its office in Baku on September 3 at the request of the Azerbaijani authorities, Daphnee Maret, Head of the ICRC Delegation in Armenia, said at a press briefing.

“Yes, indeed the office will be closed on September 3, but this does not mean that our communication with the Azerbaijani authorities will stop. We will continue to make attempts to have a reflection and offer our role as a neutral mediator on a number of matters. One of the most important matters here is the matter of missing persons. Taking this into account, we hope that in the near future we will have opportunities to be included as a neutral mediator. Discussions with Azerbaijan on this matter continue even if the office will not physically exist,” Maret said.

According to her, the work done in recent years and decades will not be forgotten.

“You have seen that the peace treaty [between Armenia and Azerbaijan] notes that there will be a certain mechanism that will operate with the engagement of international organizations to determine the fate of the missing. And in this matter we see an opportunity to determine our role and provide some assistance in further work,” Maret said.

When asked whether there is any possibility that visits to Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan will continue, the head of the ICRC delegation in Armenia replied: “We are still continuing discussions with the Azerbaijani authorities on this matter. We have discussed possible options that can be implemented to gain access to the detained persons, but we have not had success. At the moment, we are unable to continue our work in this regard. We will constantly return to this matter, our attempts will continue.”