Alen Simonyan: "Who`s talking about surrendering Tigranashen? Pashinyan just called it by another name."

ArmInfo. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Alen Simonyan saw nothing strange in Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's use of the Azerbaijani name for the Armenian city of Tigranashen.

On September 3, in a conversation with journalists, Simonyan commented on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's statement that Tigranashen (which the Armenian prime minister called by its Azerbaijani name, Kärki - ed.) is not Armenian territory. "Who is talking about surrendering Tigranashen? Pashinyan simply called it by another name. Because we know that Armenia's territory is 29,743 square kilometers." "And when we talk about border delimitation and demarcation, this means that where we have advanced, we will have to withdraw from these positions, and where Azerbaijan has done so, they will have to withdraw from these territories," the Armenian Security Council Secretary stated.

Overall, Simonyan noted, he sees the Azerbaijani side's readiness for peace. "I see the Azerbaijani side's readiness to take steps—and they are already taking them—towards establishing peace. Those steps they can afford. It's clear that we still have issues that we still raise during our meetings and encounter problems in discussing. These are issues related to detainees and missing persons," Simonyan explained.

Speaking about whether the issue of prisoners was discussed at the meeting in Bishkek, the Armenian Security Council Secretary stated that all these issues have one heading: deepening peace between the countries. When asked again why Azerbaijan is not returning Armenian prisoners of war, Simonyan decided to remind everyone that some of them were returned after the war, and, according to him, this is the result of their joint efforts. "For us, there is no option but to not address this issue or to leave it off our agenda," Simonyan assured.

He also announced a planned trip to Azerbaijan, noting that there are no exact dates yet. "I don't rule out the possibility of such a visit. But, for now, there are no specific dates," Simonyan concluded.

It should be noted that the exact number of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages held in Azerbaijani prisons is still unknown. Experts estimate there are several hundred. Today, Azerbaijani authorities confirm the presence of 19 Armenians in their custody. Among those held in Azerbaijani captivity are eight former and current members of the military-political leadership of Artsakh. These include former Artsakh presidents Arkady Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Arayik Harutyunyan; former Foreign Minister Davit Babayan; as well as Parliament Speaker Davit Ishkhanyan; former Commander of the Artsakh Defense Army General Levon Mnatsakanyan; General David Manukyan; and former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan.

In February, a Baku puppet court sentenced Arayik Harutyunyan, David Babayan, David Ishkhanyan, David Manukyan, and Levon Mnatsakanyan to life imprisonment on trumped-up charges, and Bako Sahakyan, Arkady Ghukasyan, and Ruben Vardanyan to 20 years in prison. The so-called court sentenced the remaining Artsakh residents to up to 15 years in prison.