Azernews.Az

By Aisha Jabbarova

Fourteen Azerbaijani prisoners of war returned to the country as part of the “all-for-all” exchange of prisoners and hostages agreed with Armenia.

The Azerbaijani hostages were brought to Baku in an airplane yesterday.

The prisoner swap took place in line with the trilateral peace agreement signed on November 10 that stipulates the exchange of prisoners as well as bodies of soldiers following the 44-day-war.

The exchange was facilitated by Russian peacekeepers that have been deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh under the peace agreement.

Azerbaijan’s State Security Service reported yesterday that the prisoner swap began on December 14 based on "all for all" principle to mutually return prisoners of war and hostages agreed with Armenia as a result of negotiations with the participation of international organizations and Russian peacekeeping forces.

The State Security Service reminded that Azerbaijan constantly negotiated with the International Committee of the Red Cross, Russian peacekeeping forces and other international organizations, and took all possible measures of the exchange of the prisoners.

Among the returned prisoners are Azerbaijani IDPs Dilgam Asgarov and Shabaz Guliyev who were detained by separatist leaders in Nagorno-Karbakh in 2014 while visiting the graves of their family members in the occupied Kalbajar region. Shahbazov and Guliyev were sentenced to life imprisonment and to 22 years in jail respectively on trumped-up charges.

State Security Service stressed that Azerbaijan is fulfilling its obligations to ensure the rights of Armenian servicemen captured during the war and also fulfilled its obligations to ensure the rights of Armenian servicemen captured during the war.

Armenian Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Avinyan has announced the return of 44 captives from Azerbaijan.

The November 10 trilateral agreement signed between Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia, followed the 44-day-war that started with Armenia’s firing at Azerbaijani positions and civilians.

The peace agreement stipulated the return of Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions to Azerbaijan’s control. Before the signing of the agreement, Azerbaijan had liberated around 300 city centers, settlements and villages, including historic Shusha city.