Azerbaijan returns Manvel Saribekyan’s body

IJEVAN, NOVEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS: Today at 12:00 in Ijevan-Ghazakh boundary of the Armenian-Azerbaijani contact line, the Armenian party repatriated citizen Eldar Taghiev to Azerbaijan. The latter had passed the border of the Republic of Armenia in Berd region in 2009 December. And the Azerbaijani party returned the body of 20 year-old Manvel Saribekyan, who had passed the border in September by mistake.

Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, Lieutenant Colonel Samvel Asatryan told journalists that the Azerbaijani party has brought a doctor to examine the health state of Taghiev. The doctor confirmed that the Armenians have treated the captive humanly. Taghiev himself did not express discontent.

Press Secretary of the Armenian Defense Ministry Davit Karapetyan said that in such a way the Ministry fulfilled the agreement reached at the meeting of the Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian Presidents held October 27 in Astrakhan. “We expect that Azerbaijan, too, will manifest resoluteness and will return us the Armenia citizens who are in Azerbaijan,” Mr. Karapetyan said.

He noted that 6 military servicemen and one civilian are currently hold captives in Azerbaijan. There are no Azerbaijani captives in Armenia and there are two saboteurs in the NKR crossed the border of that country, the jurisdiction of returning of who belongs to the authorities of Artsakh. The latter are in negotiations with Red Cross office.