ArmInfo.POWs' parents are convinced that they can get reliable information about their children only from the Russian side. On April 19, at the discussions on the issues of prisoners of war in the National Assembly of Armenia, the representative of the Artsakh President, Deputy Director of the State Emergency Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Artsakh, former deputy mayor of Artik Boris Avagyan stated this.
So, on the proposal of one of the Armenian lawmakers to make a statement and urge the parents of prisoners of war not to travel to Artsakh in search of answers to questions about their loved ones, Avagyan noted that he cannot do this, since this is the right of these parents.
"We cannot prohibit them from receiving information from those sources they trust. And they only trust the messages of the Russian side. They come to Artsakh and appeal to the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh. They do not apply to international organizations, for example, they do not apply to the International Committee of the Red Cross, but turn to General Rustam Muradov, since the Russian side has never lied to them and did not give promises that it did not fulfill, "Avagyan said. At the same time, he expressed his conviction that it is necessary to stop speculation on the issue of prisoners of war. "There should be clear, official information, without any speculation. As for the plane, which supposedly was supposed to bring the prisoners, but arrived empty, there were also speculations, it is not clear who initiated them. There was just a regular working visit of Muradov to Baku, "said the assistant to the head of the State Emergency Service of Artsakh. He also called unacceptable speculations on the part of some lawmakers from the ruling My Step faction associated with Russia. "It's not normal when lawmakers tell the parents of prisoners of war to go to the Russian embassy and ask the Russian ambassador to raise this issue with the Russian leader. I don't think it is right for a lawmaker to send his citizens to the embassy of a foreign state for help.
In addition, I do not understand when there are insults or accusations against an ally. When you have an ally who helps you in everything, and then your state official allows himself to use expressions that offend the peacekeepers and does not even receive a reprimand for this, it is unacceptable, "he said, recalling that he dealt with the issues of 62 prisoners of war from the Shirak region.
The representative of the State Emergency Service of Artsakh was also unable to answer the question of who from Armenia is authorized to deal with the issues of prisoners of war. He noted that he did not know anything about this.
At the same time, referring to the issue that Baku is refusing to return Armenian prisoners, stating that they do not have them, Avagyan expressed his conviction that these are only nominal statements aimed at avoiding the implementation of the 8th paragraph of the trilateral statement. "The Azerbaijani enemy state from the international point of view declares that they have no prisoners, there are only terrorists. But then how did they return those 8 citizens from the Shirak region? After all, they were also captured after the signing of the trilateral statement," he said, reiterating the important role of the head of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in the efforts to return the Armenian prisoners, adding that the leadership of the Russian Federation highly appreciates these efforts, and there will soon be positive news regarding the assessments of these efforts. "But you need to understand that when the enemy side proposes to sign a peace agreement with Armenia, while refusing to return the prisoners of war, meanwhile, the process of unblocking communications is underway - this means that there are red lines. It is very important that the actions of the Azerbaijani side do not lead to the fact that these red lines have been crossed. This can lead to unexpected consequences. The pain of the parents cannot be ignored, "Avagyan said, adding that the Azerbaijani side cannot put forward any preconditions to the Armenian side, and if there may be any conditions in this matter then only the return of all Armenians held in Azerbaijan.
Avagyan also called fake reports that Azerbaijanis can come to Stepanakert, walk around and shop there calmly. According to him, with the same success, they can make purchases in Baku. It is noteworthy that immediately after the discussions in the National Assembly of Armenia, the press secretary of the Artsakh President Lusine Avanesyan made a statement in which she stressed that Boris Avagyan does not occupy any positions in Artsakh and cannot be represented as an adviser to the NKR President on a voluntary basis. ... She added that Avagyan was dismissed from his post back in March. Note that Avagyan spoke at the discussion in the Armenian parliament in the form of an employee of the State Emergency Service of Artsakh.