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US urges for returning Azerbaijani prisoners

Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict Materials 4 February 2015 18:17 (UTC +04:00)
The US urges the relevant authorities to return the two prisoners to the government of Azerbaijan.
US urges for returning Azerbaijani prisoners

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 4

By Anakhanim Hidayatova - Trend:

The US urges the relevant authorities to return the two prisoners to the government of Azerbaijan, the US Co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick told Trend Feb. 4.

"This would be an important humanitarian gesture that can help reduce tensions and build trust between the sides," Warlick said commenting on the US stance on a "trial" held against the Azerbaijanis taken hostages by Armenians in Azerbaijan's occupied district of Kalbajar.

"In the past and in the spirit of the Astrakhan Declaration, the sides have found a way to return prisoners and we hope such steps could be taken in this case," he added.

During an operation in the Shaplar village of Azerbaijan's occupied Kalbajar district on July 11, 2014 the Armenian forces killed an Azerbaijani, Hasan Hasanov, and detained two other Azerbaijanis, Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilgam Asgarov. A criminal case was filed against them.

Earlier, the so-called court in Nagorno-Karabakh sentenced Asgarov to life imprisonment and Guliyev to 22 years in prison.

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan 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.

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