Moscow, Russia, Jan.21
By Orkhan Yolchuyev - Trend:
Russia will discuss with Armenia the issue of holding hostage of Dilgam Asgarov who is a Russian citizen, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Jan.21.
He was speaking about the hostage's fate during a traditional press conference.
"He was taken hostage by the Armenian side and we will discuss this issue with Armenia," said Lavrov.
He said many Russian citizens have been detained in various countries. "We are constantly interested in their fate taking into account the necessity of getting information."
"Relevant decisions are made based on assessing the severity of the accusations against our fellow citizens, understanding the conditions under which they are kept and which plans does the country where these citizens were detained have with respect to them," said Russian foreign minister.
The decision is made through the channels which exist for that - the channels of Russia's bilateral relations with the relevant countries, Lavrov added.
The Armenian forces, during an operation in the Shaplar village of Azerbaijan's occupied Kalbajar district on July 11, killed an Azerbaijani, Hasan Hasanov, and detained two other Azerbaijanis, Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilgam Asgarov. A criminal case was filed against them.
Earlier, "the court" sentenced Asgarov to life imprisonment and Guliyev - to 22 years in prison.
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 US are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.