Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Russia Ara Aivazian and Sergei Lavrov on Monday, on January 18 discussed the solution of humanitarian issues and the establishment of cooperation in Nagorno-Karabakh, the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry reports.

Aivazian once again emphasized the priority of the full implementation of humanitarian measures, first of all, the immediate and safe repatriation of prisoners of war, prisoners of war and other detainees, as stipulated for in the trilateral statement of November 10.

Aivazian drew Lavrov's attention to the importance of preserving the Armenian religious, historical and cultural heritage in the territories of Karabakh, which came under the control of Azerbaijan, as well as the importance of the uninterrupted participation of international professional structures in this issue.

The Foreign Ministers weighed in on issues of establishing stability and ensuring security in the region and exchanged views on the Armenian-Russian relations.

The first batch of 44 Armenian POWs returned from Azerbaijan in mid-December, although Armenian officials said many more people were being held in Baku. Dozens of others, both servicemen and civilians, have been captured after the completion of military hostilities. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said in one of his speeches that the newly detained persons are not prisoners of war but “terrorists”. Human rights lawyer Siranush Sahakyan has said, meanwhile, that at least 120 Armenian prisoners of war are being held in Azerbaijan. Sahakyan represents the rights of some of the Karabakh POWs before the European Court of Human Rights. The lawyer said there is enough evidence proving the capture of said persons, which the Armenian side will submit to international agencies and courts.