August 16, 2019 - 13:58 AMT
ICRC working to arrange meeting with Armenian soldier in Azerbaijan

The representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross have yet to meet the Armenian soldier who found himself in Azerbaijan under unknown circumstances days earlier, RFE/RL Armenian service reports.

Armenian serviceman Arayik Ghazaryan (b. 2000) left his military post in Nagorno Karabakh on August 12 afternoon and ended up in the territory of Azerbaijan.

Zara Amatuni from the ICRC's Yerevan office said the ICRC is continuing negotiations with relevant authorities to obtain permission to meet Ghazaryan.

Amatuni revealed that the Committee usually strives to organize such meetings in the shortest time possible but that there is no certainty when it comes this exact case.

In a statement issued on August 13, the Defense Ministry of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) refuted Azerbaijani media reports alleging that the Armenian soldier has found himself on the other side of the border due to “non-statutory relations” in the Armenian army.