Armenian could have brought back Armenian captives from Azerbaijan five or six months ago by exchanging mine maps, but the incumbent authorities, namely acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, didn’t take advantage of the opportunity. Artak Zakaryan, MP candidate of the “I Have the Honor” bloc which is running in the snap parliamentary elections to be held on June 20, told reporters today.

According to the member of the opposition, they were inactive only to use the captives for their interests, particularly for PR during the election campaign. “Negotiations over the transfer of mine maps to Azerbaijan had been going on for a long time. Armenia had refused to deliver them to Baku several times, and the process was deliberately delayed,” Zakaryan stressed.

Zakaryan also recalled that the maps are of strategic significance for the enemy since it was the existence of mined areas that wouldn’t let the Azerbaijani authorities resume hostilities against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh for many years. “The Azerbaijanis believe it’s extremely important for them to restore Akna (Aghdam) and populate the city quickly. This already poses a threat to Nagorno-Karabakh. This is why they purchased the maps from the capitulators, and the latter sold the maps to the Azerbaijanis,” Zakaryan concluded.