Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have noted in meetings with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Armenia that they will continue to cooperate with Azerbaijan to assist persons protected by international humanitarian law. This was reported by the Media and Public Diplomacy Department of the MFA in response to a written request from Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Taking into account the fact that the ICRC has suspended its activities in Azerbaijan since September at the request of the local authorities, and that there is no clause on the return of prisoners in the text of the peace agreement initialed by the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Armenian News-NEWS.am had asked these questions to Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan:

"1. In the current situation, are steps being taken to protect the Armenian prisoners held in [Azerbaijani capital] Baku—at least from physical torture?

  1. ICRC representatives had reported that they last visited the Armenian prisoners in June. Has the organization you lead asked about the condition of the Armenian prisoners since the ICRC representatives visits have stopped, and have they managed to contact their families during that time? Is there any other organization that can deliver parcels to them?
  2. As an official who initialed the Peace Agreement, do you believe that the desire for peace is sincere if one country continues to hold prisoners of another country—moreover, with such accusations that are not about the crimes committed by the prisoners individually, but about the ‘crimes’ of the Republic of Armenia [(RA)], as the Azerbaijani side is trying to present?”

But the Armenian MFA gave a non-specific, general answer to Armenian News-NEWS.am’s aforesaid specific questions. It says as follows:

“Addressing the issue of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages illegally held in Azerbaijan, including issues related to their health condition, continues to be in the focus of the RA Foreign Ministry’s attention, being regularly raised in meetings with international partners, both on bilateral and multilateral platforms.

The RA Foreign Ministry regularly holds meetings with relatives of [Armenian] prisoners [in Azerbaijan], missing and forcibly disappeared persons, as well as with a number of international organizations, including the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

RA Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan constantly raises the issue of the release of Armenian prisoners of war in meetings with international partners. The issue was touched also upon in an interview with [journalist] Petros Ghazaryan on August 27, which is available at the following link (see from the 33rd minute).

ICRC representatives have noted that they will continue to cooperate with Azerbaijan to assist persons protected by international humanitarian law.

The initialing and subsequent signing of the ‘Peace Agreement’ [with Azerbaijan] will create a favorable environment for more effective addressing of humanitarian issues.”

There are 23 officially registered Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan, some of whom are members of the former military and political leadership of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). The cessation of the activities of the ICRC in Azerbaijan has left these Armenian prisoners in complete isolation, as it was the only international organization that could periodically visit these Armenian prisoners in the Baku prison and to convey information to their families.