Baku, Azerbaijan, April 10
By Ilkin Izzet - Trend:
The Armenian citizen, Arsen Khojayan, detained on March 7 in Azerbaijan, born 1991, a resident of Verin Karmiraghbyur village of Berd district of Armenia's Tavush region was handed over to the Armenian side on April 10, Baku office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told Trend.
The detainee said he got on Azerbaijan's territory by accident when he was searching for his sheep flock, secretary of Azerbaijani State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons, Shahin Sailov earlier said.
Khojayan was detained near a railway in Azerbaijan's Tovuz region.
Presumably, he is a relative of Mamiko Khojayan who was detained on January 28 in Azerbaijan's Tovuz region and returned to Armenia on March 4.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Translated by L.Z.
Edited by C.N.