It would be right to raise the issue of the release of prisoners of  war seriously, similar to how Azerbaijan is raising the issue of the  plane - Zatulin

ArmInfo. According to Zatulin,  before the events of 2020 and 2023, Baku acted more cautiously. But after these events (Azerbaijan's seizure of Nagorno-Karabakh, - Ed.), Aliyev considers himself a winner who no longer has to look back at Russia.

Therefore, the tone of his statements may vary:  harsher or softer, but we must  understand that Azerbaijan will continue a policy in this region that  runs counter to Russia's interests. "NATO's penetration into the  Caspian and Central Asia runs counter to our interests, and this is  precisely what Azerbaijan is currently doing together with Turkey",  the MP emphasized.

"I have enormous respect for Overchuk, I'm in contact with him, and I  believe he's doing a good job. But that doesn't mean we should delude  ourselves with Russian-Azerbaijani relations. Overchuk is doing the  right thing: no matter what, it was necessary to demonstrate that  we're trying to resolve this plane incident and are doing all the  necessary work," Zatulin noted.

At the same time, in response to the question that "Azerbaijan  periodically demonstrates that it doesn't really need us. But do we  need it, given its current approaches?" Zatulin noted that, of  course, Russia and Azerbaijan have common economic interests. "But I  would recommend that the government and leadership of our country  prioritize economic interests alongside political ones. For example,  I don't think it's right that we're refraining from publicly calling  for the release of Karabakh's captured leaders, including Ruben  Vardanyan. It is obvious  that the last thing the current Armenian  leadership wants is their release. They are their political  opponents. But it would be logical for us to raise this issue with  Baku, since we undertook the peacekeeping mission during which they  were captured. It would be right to seriously raise the issue of the  prisoners of war's,  similar to how Azerbaijan is raising the issue  of the plane. But I haven't seen anything of the sort on our part,"  Zatulin stated.