YEREVAN, DECEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. The Deputy Commander of the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces Lieutenant general Rustam Muradov said that there is a “positive understanding” in the issue of repatriating the Armenian captives held in Azerbaijan after the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh war.

“As of today all Azerbaijani servicemen are repatriated, while the repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war still continues, there is a positive understanding. I think this issue must be fully closed. The Russian peacekeepers will complete this work,” Lt. Gen. Muradov, who is the former and first commander of the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh, told TASS news agency.

He described the repatriation of POWs as the “duty” of the peacekeepers.

“As a military man I understand who the prisoners of war are, what feelings they’ve experienced. I remember my first flight to Baku when we were bringing back captives to Yerevan. When the plane landed in Yerevan we saw tears. They couldn’t believe that they’ve returned home,” he said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan