Peace treaty to resolve POW issue – PM

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. The peace treaty will resolve the issue of POWs and other detainees held in Azerbaijan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said. 

Pashinyan was asked whether the release of Armenian POWs held in Azerbaijan is included in the terms of the draft peace treaty. 

“Is the mentioning of this in the peace treaty that should resolve this issue? I think it is the peace treaty itself that should resolve this issue, regardless whether this is literally written there. The peace treaty means a different atmosphere, a different relationship. We are saying that eighty percent of the peace treaty is agreed upon, we are saying let’s sign what we have agreed upon and then deal with the rest that hasn’t been agreed upon yet. And we are hearing an opinion, saying no, this treaty won’t be signed until all articles aren’t agreed upon. But excuse me, how many articles should this treaty have?” Pashinyan said.

The Armenian Prime Minister said that the peace treaty includes an article proposed by Azerbaijan a few months ago, and it isn’t agreed upon.

“One of the parties can say there is another article, we should agree this too, and we could agree it, and it could turn out there is another one that must be agreed upon. Meaning, it’s not written anywhere that the peace treaty must have, let’s say, twenty-five articles and can’t have seventeen, or fifteen, fourteen, or thirteen articles. The problem here is about political will,” Pashinyan said.