On April 8, we were all waiting for Azerbaijan to send Armenian prisoners of war to Armenia, the Prime Minister’s spokesperson Mane Gevorgyan confirmed the news about the scheduled return of Armenian prisoners of war on April 8, and on that day, RFE/RL Armenian Service and Armenian Public Television were reporting live from the airport, after which government officials expressed several differing views...Were there agreements with Azerbaijan in regard to the return of prisoners of war or not? This is what member of the opposition Bright Armenia faction of the National Assembly of Armenia Ani Samsonyan asked Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during today’s parliamentary session.

According to her, deputy of the My Step faction of the National Assembly Andranik Kocharyan declared that there had been an agreement over the prisoners of war after Pashinyan’s visit to Moscow that was violated and that Muradov (commander of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh) had gone to Russia to escort the prisoners of war to Armenia.

In response, Pashinyan said the following: “In regard to the return of prisoners of war, there is a written agreement with Azerbaijan that was signed by the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan. It’s always in effect, and we need to state the fact that Azerbaijan isn’t fulfilling its obligations. I’m glad to state the fact that in their statement issued yesterday, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group clearly stated the need for the return of captives and other detainees. Armenia continues to raise this issue at the international level.

I see that the Azerbaijani authorities are turning the issue into a subject for political speculation in order to incite political instability in Armenia and to become the mouthpiece and platform for certain forces. Yes, there is a written agreement. Armenia insists that the captives must be returned. I have discussed the issue a dozen times with the President of Russia during this period. The Russian and Armenian defense and foreign ministers have also discussed the matter.”

In response, Samsonyan stated that she was asking if there was an agreement on the return of Armenian prisoners of war on April 8, why the plane was empty and who is responsible for government officials’ contradicting statements.

“The President of Azerbaijan is responsible for this situation since he has assumed specific commitments before the international community and isn’t meeting them,” Pashinyan said.