Azernews.Az

The Azerbaijani government has rebuffed Armenia's allegations concerning violation of an agreement to exchange prisoners.
Secretary of the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons, Shahin Sayilov, told Radio Liberty that the repatriation of Armenian POWs depended on their own will. For instance, Valeri Suleymanian, who is now being questioned by the commission, is unwilling to return home.
"We cannot transfer a citizen to his home country against his will. We can repatriate prisoners any time, but only if they want to go home," the commission secretary said.
Sayilov said Baku had appealed to the UN-backed Global Commission on International Migration to arrange Suleymanian's transfer to a third country.
Another prisoner, Ambartsum Asaturian, is overseen by the Defense Ministry. He has recently written a letter saying he wanted to re-join his mother who is living in Russia.
The state commission said there was one more Armenian prisoner in Baku but Armenia is reluctant to acknowledge the fact. Azerbaijan has repeatedly offered to repatriate Abrik Abramian, who is mentally ill.
An official from Armenia's state commission on POWs, Armen Kapyerian, claimed that Azerbaijan is refusing to return two Armenian captives, in an alleged violation of the agreement on the exchange of prisoners.
Azerbaijan, in turn, accused Yerevan of infringing upon relevant agreements. Shahin Sayilov said it was Armenia that was refusing to hand over two Azerbaijani POWs - Samir Mammadov who was captured in December 2006 and Anar Aliyev who was taken hostage several months ago.
Azerbaijan, Armenia and the international taskforce on POWs and missing persons signed a trilateral agreement on unconditional repatriation of the two countries' prisoners in the Georgian capital Tbilisi in 2005.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict for over a decade. Peace talks kicked off after a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but have brought little tangible result so far. Armenia continues to occupy Upper Garabagh and seven other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law.