Azerbaijan not ready to cooperate with Armenia over prisoners, as it  believes Armenians to blame - Artak Beglaryan

ArmInfo. "I am convinced that if Armenia makes a counter-offer for cooperation on the issue of prisoners of war held in Baku prisons, Azerbaijan will find itself in a dead end and will be forced to reject it, since they are not  interested in this," former Artsakh Ombudsman Artak Beglaryan said on December 26 at a discussion dedicated to Armenian prisoners of war, speaking about the proposal of the Azerbaijani Prosecutor's Office to cooperate on the issue of prisoners. 

Beglaryan explained that Azerbaijan considers itself innocent, and  therefore such a proposal is nothing more than another bait or  political move, which can be used in the future to put pressure on  Armenia.  "Thus, Azerbaijan is trying to put Armenia in a situation  where it will be the party rejecting this proposal.  This will give  the international community an opportunity to record that Armenia is  advancing a destructive agenda," the former Artsakh Ombudsman  explained.

According to him, Azerbaijan creates the appearance of readiness for  cooperation and exchange of data with Armenia. At the same time, as  Beglaryan emphasized, the proposal from the Azerbaijani side gives  Armenia a chance to raise all such issues and be active in relation  to prisoners of war and political prisoners, making this topic  central to the negotiations.

"This is an opportunity to discuss all mutual accusations that have  arisen during the conflict since the 1990s or even since the late  1980s, including after the ratification of the Rome Statute by  Armenia and the discussion of investigation issues with the  International Criminal Court. And only in this context can we talk  about the alleged cooperation with Azerbaijan," Beglaryan explained.

In addition, as the former ombudsman noted, with a counter-offer,  Armenia has the opportunity to more reasonably demonstrate the lack  of guilt of the Armenian servicemen and politicians in Azerbaijani  captivity, as well as point out the crimes committed by the  Azerbaijani authorities and the need to investigate them.

"Of course, there are other important issues that should be raised in  this context. For example, the acts of international courts, such as  the decision of the European Court on various cases in favor of  Armenians, which Azerbaijan has not yet implemented. These issues  should also become the subject of political negotiations," Beglaryan  concluded.

The exact number of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages held in  Azerbaijani prisons is still unknown.  According to experts, there  are several hundred. Azerbaijan confirms the presence of 23  Armenians, 17 of whom were captured as a result of aggression in  2023. Among those held in Azerbaijani captivity, there are 8 former  and current representatives of the military-political leadership of  Artsakh. These are former presidents of Artsakh Arkady Ghukasyan,  Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, former Foreign Minister David  Babayan, as well as Speaker of the Parliament David Ishkhanyan,  former commander of the Artsakh Defense Army, General Levon  Mnatsakanyan, General David Manukyan and former State Minister Ruben  Vardanyan.

On September 28, 2023, Armenia filed a lawsuit against Azerbaijan in  the International Court of Justice regarding the alleged violation of  the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of  Racial Discrimination against the Armenian population of  Nagorno-Karabakh. In addition, the Republic of Armenia submitted four  complaints to the European Court of Human Rights. One of them  concerns the crimes and human rights violations that occurred during  the 44-day 2020, the second concerns the trials of Armenian prisoners  of war in Baku.