Swedish parliamentarians call on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. The Sweden-Armenia Friendship Group of the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag) calls on Azerbaijan to accelerate the return of the Armenian prisoners of war, the Armenian Embassy in Stockholm reported on Facebook.

Members of the Sweden-Armenia Friendship Group of the Swedish Riksdag Arin Karapet, Björn Söder and Fredrik Malm have made a joint statement, expressing their concern over Azerbaijan’s destructive approach. They noted that Azerbaijan politicizes the humanitarian issue, accompanied with attempts of blocking the entry of international organizations, including UN into the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone, thus depriving the latter of the opportunity of providing the people of Nagorno Karabakh with humanitarian assistance.

Noting point 8 of the Statement on a complete ceasefire by the leaders of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation made on 10 November 2020, the parliamentarians “call on Azerbaijan to accelerate the exchange of bodies of the killed, as well as the exchange of prisoners of war and hostages, to immediately end criminal proceedings against them and ensure their transfer to the Republic of Armenia”.

“An unconditional and immediate return of prisoners will be one of the first steps towards the restoration of a trust-based atmosphere between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia. We also call on the institutions of the European Union to raise this humanitarian issue consistently in the context of the current and future relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan”, the parliamentarians said in their statement.