Karabakh: U.S. calls for release, humane treatment of all POWsMay 5, 2021 - 17:16 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - United States Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Nagorno-Karabakh parties to complete the exchange process for all prisoners of war. Azerbaijan is still holding up to 300 Armenian prisoners of war, civilians and soldiers alike, while the Armenian side has returned all the POWs and detained persons, including two saboteurs who killed an Armenian minor and a serviceman a decade ago and were serving jail terms in Karabakh. "The U.S. welcomes Azerbaijan's release of three Armenian detainees," Blinken said in a tweet on Wednesday, May 5, a day after a plane carrying the three Armenian prisoners of war landed in Yerevan. "We call on both parties to fully and expeditiously complete the exchange process for all prisoners, detainees, and remains, and to respect their obligations to ensure the humane treatment of detainees." 19 of the hundreds of Armenian civilians and servicemen, who were taken captive by Azerbaijan during and after military hostilities in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), have been tortured and killed. Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Freedom House concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia Freedom House urged Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment. CSTO recognizes Armenia’s sovereign right to withdraw Tasmagambetov has said that if Armenia decides to leave the organization, “it will be the sovereign right of Armenia.” |