Armenia to transfer POW to Azerbaijan

The Armenian Defense Ministry will transfer an Azerbaijani POW to Baku, RIA Novosti quoted the ministry.

"Azerbaijani citizen, who illegally crossed the border in 2010, will be transferred to Azerbaijan on the Ijevan-Kazakh road on Nov. 4 at 12.00 [local time] in pursuance of the declaration signed by the Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia in Astrakhan," the ministry reported.

Under the agreement, the POW's name is withheld until his transfer.

Astrakhan hosted the trilateral meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia - Ilham Aliyev, Dmitry Medvedev and Serzh Sargsyan on Oct. 27. The ways of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were discussed there. The parties signed a declaration, which envisages the return of prisoners of war and takes a humanitarian nature, Medvedev said on Wednesday after the trilateral meeting.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the 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.