Kocharyan: Armenian authorities are inactive on return of Armenian  POWS out of fear of their influence

ArmInfo.The Armenian authorities are not only failing to address but actively do not want the return of Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) from Baku, fearing the emergence of influential figures in the country who might attempt to unite emigrated Armenians, as stated by Robert Kocharyan, Armenia's  second president and the prime ministerial candidate from the Armenia bloc in the upcoming parliamentary elections, during the election  campaign in the village of Akhuryan.

Meanwhile, Kocharyan noted that he sees viable opportunities for  securing their return from Azerbaijani captivity. "I am confident  that the Armenian authorities are not dealing with this issue. In  their words, this is a 'sensitive topic, which is why they are not  making it public.' However, the statements made by Armenian Prime  Minister Nikol Pashinyan on May 18 regarding the Artsakhis indicate  otherwise they are not only neglecting the issue but actually want  the Armenian POWs to remain in Azerbaijan, so that individuals with  authority do not end up here [in Armenia] and attempt to unite  emigrated people for certain purposes," the leader of the "Armenia"  bloc asserted.

Kocharyan called it shameful that this issue wasn't even raised  during the signing of the joint "Peace Declaration" in Washington,  which, he claims, actually has nothing to do with peace. "They should  have set this issue as a precondition. I have no doubt they had every  opportunity to do so, given that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev  has already reaped all the benefits from this (the sham trials -  ed.)," Kocharyan asserts. The leader of the Armenia bloc also assured  that the return of Armenian prisoners of war would be one of their  core conditions in  negotiations with Azerbaijan. "I've always been a  man of my word. I can't say how long this will take. But I assure you  that this issue can be resolved within a reasonable timeframe; I see  such possibilities. Meanwhile, the Armenian authorities have given up  a lot without receiving anything in return," Kocharyan concluded,  wondering how much longer this could continue.