Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 25 / Trend K.Zarbaliyeva /
Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited POWs and civilians from Armenia, who are kept in hostage in Azerbaijan.
They become familiar with the health statue of the hostages and one of them was delivered a letter from his family, the ICRC told Trend.
At the same time, twelve Armenian citizens are also being held in Azerbaijan
Astrakhan hosted a trilateral meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia - Ilham Aliyev, Dmitry Medvedev and Serzh Sargsyan - on Oct. 27. The parties signed a declaration envisaging the return of POWs with the mediation of the ICRC and the OSCE Minsk Group.
Azerbaijani junior sergeants - Roman Huseynov and Anar Hajiyev, which the Armenian armed forces took as POWs on Aug. 27, 2010 and on May 10, 2009, respectively.
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.