I’m working directly on this matter with our partners in Yerevan—the Ministry of Defense, the National Security Service—which are directly related to this; there is a very substantial role by the Red Cross. The Foreign Minister of Armenia, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, said this at Monday’s press conference in Stepanakert, the capital city of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic), presenting the steps that are taken to return Armenian soldier Arayik Ghazaryan, who has ended up in Azerbaijan, to his homeland.

“We have demonstrated our approach that was regarding the previous situation—the [Azerbaijani] captive who had ended up in Armenia,” he noted. “We made our move and returned him [to Azerbaijan].” 

Mnatsakanyan also stated that Karen Ghazaryan’s fate continues to be very worrying for the Armenian side, “and this situation requires caution because we are dealing with human life,” he added. “We will continue to make every possible effort to the maximum so that we can find solutions.”

Arayik Ghazaryan, 19, a soldier of the Artsakh Defense Army, left his combat position on August 12, under yet undetermined circumstances, and ended up in in Azerbaijan.

And Armenian citizen Karen Ghazaryan was sentenced to 20 years in Azerbaijan. The trial was held on February 27. Charges had been brought against him under several articles of that country’s criminal code. Karen Ghazaryan is a civilian, but in Azerbaijan he was presented as a saboteur. In July 2018, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia formally announced that Ghazaryan (born in 1984), a resident of Berdavan border village of Armenia’s Tavush Province, has never served in the Armenian armed forces. He has health issues and is registered at the relevant medical facility since 2013.