Armenia and Azerbaijan exchange prisoners of war
In a first step towards rapprochement, the neighboring countries of Armenia and Azerbaijan, which have been enemies for decades, exchanged prisoners of war on Wednesday. Baku released 32 Armenian military personnel and Yerevan two Azerbaijani military personnel, explained the Azerbaijani state commission for prisoners of war. The exchange had taken place in the Gasakh district on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan published a list of the 32 released Armenians on Facebook.
"Armenian soldiers were handed over to Armenia after the International Committee of the Red Cross examined their health and came to a positive conclusion," the Azerbaijani state commission added.
The prisoner exchange follows a diplomatic breakthrough last week. Armenia and Azerbaijan had jointly announced that they would "take concrete steps to build confidence" and reaffirmed their intention to "normalize relations and sign a peace agreement". In this context, they also announced the exchange of prisoners of war. In November, Yerevan put the number of Armenian prisoners of war in Azerbaijan at 55, including six civilians.
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The approaching prisoner exchange between the two nations was a significant step in the normalization process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as more prisoners of war, including 32 Armenians and two Azerbaijanis, were exchanged in the Gasakh district on their shared border. Following this step, both countries expressed their commitment to taking further steps towards building trust and signing a peace agreement.
Source: www.ntv.de
