ArmInfo. A protest was held in front of the Armenian government to urge for effective steps to return of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages held in Baku. Dozens of citizens came to the government with banners depicting, among others, the military-political leadership of Artsakh, who have been held in Azerbaijan for the second year.
One of the initiators of the action, Mesrop Arakelyan, a representative of the "Country to Live" party and former head of the Ministry of Socialist Labor, noted that the return of prisoners from Baku is not only a task for Armenia, but also an obligation of the international community. "We have consistently stated that we have no illusions about the actions of the Armenian authorities on the issue of returning our compatriots from Baku. It is obvious that the lack of progress in this matter clearly shows the efforts of these authorities are not effective. It is evident that there are many effective tools that could be used by these authorities to secure the return of the Armenian prisoners. This should have been a top priority for our authorities, rather than focusing solely on a peace agreement," he noted.
The politician expressed his conviction that the return of Armenian prisoners of war should have been a key condition for the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. Arakelyan also emphasized that the Armenian authorities should urge the international community to put pressure on the Azerbaijani authorities through sanctions and secure the return of Armenian prisoners to their homeland.