Lawmaker expects Armenia-Azerbaijan prisoner swap in nearest time

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. Armenia and Azerbaijan did not exchange prisoners as of Wednesday noon almost a week after the agreement was reached.

Azerbaijan has to release 32 Armenian prisoners in exchange for Armenia's release of two Azerbaijani servicemen under the agreement.

Asked to comment, a senior Armenian lawmaker on December 13 declined to give specific timeframes of the exchange. “First of all, I wouldn’t want to mention specific timeframes,” Member of Parliament, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs Sargis Khandanyan said at a press briefing when asked on the delay and whether Azerbaijan has breached the deal. “The logic and perception is that the process should take place in the nearest time. There’s been no signals indicating that Azerbaijan has abandoned its obligation. After all, this is an obligation assumed in a written form, in the present tense, that Azerbaijan is releasing 32 prisoners. I assume there are some organizational issues which are in process and we must expect it to happen in the nearest time,” Khandanyan said.