Possible diplomatic efforts underway to return Armenian captives illegaly held in Baku, says Pashinyan

Armenia raises the issue of the return of prisoners illegally held in Baku during all negotiations, including those with Azerbaijan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told journalists.

In response to a protest on Friday, during which participants demanded that the Foreign Ministry summon all diplomats accredited in Armenia to raise the issue, Pashinyan said, "Of course, on an emotional level, I share these feelings and understand the demands and statements made by the people." 

He reaffirmed that both the Foreign Ministry and he have made statements providing a clear assessment of the situation.

"Possible diplomatic efforts are being made in this direction. However, we must recognize one thing: we need to better understand and acknowledge how the world operates.

 If we were to invite all ambassadors and present our demands, it does not mean the issue would be resolved immediately. Sentiments are sentiments, but we must also act strategically," the Prime Minister said.

He assured that Armenia consistently raises the issue in all negotiations. "Furthermore, we bring up this issue in discussions with Azerbaijan. Efforts are being made that are not immediately visible and have yet to yield results," Pashinyan said.

He recalled the return of 32 Armenian prisoners in December 2023, noting that these efforts were not visible until the last moment.

"We refrained from making any announcements until the final stage because we could not be certain whether our efforts would be successful," he explained.

The Prime Minister also noted that he hasn’t made such statements made by the opposition, asserting that they could further harm the situation.

"If I were at least 70 percent confident that such statements would help, I would not hesitate to make them. However, I am 100 percent sure that such statements would only cause harm both to the case and to those individuals," Pashinyan said.

He added that reports of torture of Armenian prisoners by Azerbaijan are already public.

Pashinyan also referred to the latest statement from the Foreign Ministry regarding Armenian prisoners held in Baku, stressing that it was issued clearly.

Addressing concerns about why stronger statements had not been made earlier, Pashinyan explained: "We refrained from making certain statements to avoid provoking torture and the use of prohibited methods. Why are we making a statement now? Because we see that we can no longer provoke anything further- it has already happened."