Lawmaker: Authorities to continue efforts to secure release of POWs in Azerbaijan quietly, not through fiery speeches

Sargis Khandanyan, the Civil Contract faction’s candidate for chair of the parliament’s Committee on Foreign Relations, has said that securing the release of Armenian prisoners of war and other detainees held in Azerbaijan will be one of the key priorities of his parliamentary work.

Khandanyan made the statement during a confirmation hearing on his candidacy, in response to criticism from Suzanna Avetisyan, a lawmaker from the opposition Strong Armenia faction, who accused Armenian authorities of not taking sufficient steps to secure the release and repatriation of Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan.

“I said directly in my speech that this will be one of the important issues of my parliamentary work. We will continue our efforts and, yes, quiet work, to resolve this issue. I do not intend to deliver fiery speeches on this matter from this rostrum or from other international platforms,” Khandanyan said.

He credited the authorities’ efforts over the past five years with securing the release and return to Armenia of more than 200 POWs.

Azerbaijan continues to hold 19 Armenian POWs and detainees, including former leaders of Karabakh. They have been convicted on war-crimes charges that they deny in proceedings widely viewed as sham trials and an act of political persecution.