Russian commander: Yerevan claims on Armenian saboteurs’ return provocation

Russia’s peacekeeping commander, Rustam Muradov, has accused the Armenian leadership of provocation, Day.az has reported.

Asked about reasons for official Yerevan’s statement on April 8 announcing the return of Armenian servicemen (Armenian saboteurs detained in Karabakh after the November 10 peace deal) back to their country, Muradov described it as a provocation.

“This is a lie and a provocation. Ask them. They are misleading the population. It was not planned. It was a simple working visit [by Muradov] to Baku,” Muradov said.

It should be noted Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said that the Armenian Foreign Ministry continue to make provocative, deconstructive and revanchist statements.

“To call a person a prisoner of war, military operations must take place, otherwise they must be called terrorists. We informed international organizations about this, stressing that these actions pose a serious threat to security in the region, and noted the need to exert serious pressure on Armenia in this regard,” Bayramov said.

He said that Azerbaijan handed over more than 70 prisoners of war to Armenia, and Armenia returned 12 prisoners of war. Bayramov added that Azerbaijan neutralized 62 servicemen from Armenia’s Shirak region that were deployed on Azerbaijani territories on November 26.

Meanwhile, Armenian news sources reported that relatives of missing and detained soldiers had blocked the Armenian Defence Ministry building. Neither the minister nor the General Staff Head approached the protesters, ignoring their demands. It is reported that Armenian General Staff Head Artak Davtyan run from the Defence Ministry building by helicopter.

On November 10, Baku and Yerevan signed a Moscow-brokered deal that brought an end to six weeks of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.