Expert: On the issue of prisoners, it is necessary to increase  pressure on Baku 

ArmInfo.With regard to the return of our prisoners, it is necessary to consistently increase pressure on Baku. Expert of international law Ara Ghazaryan expressed  this opinion to ArmInfo.

"Today, this issue actually requires a political solution. The  European Union has already voiced two demands to Baku calling for the  return of Armenian prisoners. I think that pressure from all  international actors should be added to these calls. It is important  to note that for such pressure there is the necessary legal,  favorable for Armenia. , soil. And as a result, now Azerbaijan is  trying to maintain the status quo.  And for this Baku will need to  apply all the political mechanisms at its disposal, "the lawyer said.   Despite the return of 5 of the 62 prisoners, Azerbaijan, according to  Ghazaryan, continues to refuse to consider them prisoners of war,  claiming that the forcibly detained persons are members of a military  formation illegally located on its territory. The basis for this  point of view is the fact that they were captured after the  conclusion of an armistice on November 9, that is, the end of the  international conflict.  "In other words, Baku claims that what  happened after November 9 is already an internal conflict. And,  accordingly, it can subject them to criminal responsibility. Of  course, under these statements there is a political problem - the  issue of the status of Artsakh. Which Baku is trying to solve through  political bargaining. with Russia, "he said.

In this light, Ghazaryan considers it necessary to strengthen  Armenia's activity in order to achieve the inclusion of the issue of  Armenian prisoners of war in the agenda of the next PACE session.  Noting that the activation of the European Union in this matter is  directed as a message to Turkey, the lawyer stressed that an answer  will inevitably follow from Ankara.

"After all, Armenia and Azerbaijan are part of Europe. And Europeans  should be concerned about the security of their own borders. In this  light, we need to increasingly focus on the racist policy pursued by  Baku. Since all this directly concerns European security. And I am  convinced that we we will register progress in this direction, "the  lawyer summed up.