Pashinyan says Armenia, Azerbaijan "very close" to starting POW swap

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia and Azerbaijan are "very close" to beginning the exchange of prisoners of war, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Monday, December 14.

"Very soon we are expecting the return of a group of POWs whose identities have been officially confirmed by the International Committee of the Red Cross and Azerbaijan," Pashinyan said in a live address.

The PM said the Armenian side will continue looking for the missing servicemen, some of whom may turn out to be among the POWs.

According to him, the search and rescue operations are part of a complicated process which he said will continue with the same intensity.

Pashinyan, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev on November 9 signed a statement to end the war in Karabakh after almost 45 days. Under the deal, the Armenian side has returned all the seven regions surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, having lost a part of Karabakh itself in hostilities.