Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 1
Trend:
Armenian citizen Sarkis Ananyan (born 1961) illegally crossed the state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Aug. 26, Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan said Sept. 1.
Ananyan crossed the border in the direction of the village of Kemerli of Gazakh District, and was detained by the soldiers of a military unit of Azerbaijani armed forces, stationed on the front line.
A preliminary investigation revealed that Ananyan is unhappy with the hard social situation in Armenia.
Due to problems with his health, Ananyan has been out of school since he was ten years old and unable to serve in the military. Because of the difficult situation he was forced to engage in wage labor.
The detainee said the social situation in Armenia has come to such a point that the majority of his fellow villagers intend to go to Azerbaijan and to seek asylum here.
The detained Armenian citizen is currently under medical supervision, he is being treated in accordance with the rules defined by international law.
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 four U.N. Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Edited by CN