Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 8
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
Families of Azerbaijanis taken hostage by Armenians in Azerbaijan's occupied Kalbajar region have appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin again.
The family of hostage Dilgam Asgarov (Russian citizen) and Albina Veselova (Russian citizen), spouse of another hostage Shahbaz Guliyev, have appealed to Russian president, State Committee for Refugees and IDPs of Azerbaijan said on Aug.8.
They asked Putin to discuss this issue during the meeting in Sochi and resolve the problem with the release of Asgarov and Guliyev, as well as the return of body of Hasan Hasanov killed by Armenians.
Previously, Azerbaijan's Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the State Committee on Refugees and IDPs, Ali Hasanov met with the head of ICRC's Azerbaijani office, Denise Duran.
During the meeting, it was stressed that the return of the hostages is a priority of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the government is engaged in addressing this problem.
Following the meeting, Azerbaijan's deputy prime minister received the family members of Hasan Hasanov.
Previously, Armenian media reported that the Armenian forces, during an operation in the occupied Kalbajar District's Shaplar village on July 11, killed an Azerbaijani - Hasan Hasanov, and detained two other Azerbaijanis - Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilgam Asgarov.
They also reported about the launching of criminal cases against the detained Azerbaijanis.
The ICRC told Trend that the Azerbaijani citizen Hasan Hasanov was buried in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijani State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing People said the fate of Azerbaijani citizens taken hostages in the Kalbajar District, is its priority.
The families of Azerbaijanis, taken hostage by Armenians in Kalbajar, have officially appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Currently, the ICRC continues talks with the parties on this matter.
Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry dismissed the Armenian media reports on affiliation of the mentioned persons to the country's armed forces.
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.
Edited by CN