ArmInfo. The Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Miroslav Laichak, welcomed the exchange of detainees between Armenia and Azerbaijan, according to the OSCE website.
Earlier, the press secretary of the Armenian Foreign Ministry Anna Naghdalyan said that Yerevan and Baku had transferred to each other the detainees earlier Elvin Arif Oglu Ibrahimov and Zaven Karapetyan. Laichak discussed the issue at a meeting with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group on the Karabakh settlement (Russia, France, USA). The meeting was attended by Igor Popov (Russia), Andrew Chaufer (USA) and Stefan Visconti (France), as well as personal representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk. The mediators informed the OSCE Chairman-in-Office about the results of the meetings of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, held under their auspices in Moscow on April 15 and Washington on June 20.
The Co-Chairs also informed about progress in humanitarian issues, including the exchange of detainees between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The OSCE Chairman-in-Office welcomed this humanitarian gesture. According to Laichak, this step shows "how dialogue can lead to positive results for people affected by the conflict." He also expressed his support for the full support of the Minsk process and the work of the co- chairs, as well as the efforts of the parties to reduce tensions and create an atmosphere conducive to peace and substantial progress in the negotiations.