ICRC reps visit Armenian deserter in Azerbaijan

Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 20

By Samir Ali – Trend:

Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited the Armenian deserter who surrendered to the Azerbaijani side, ICRC Baku Office's Public Relations Department Head Ilaha Huseynova told Trend.

The ICRC representatives visited the Armenian soldier who had recently crossed the line of contact of the troops on August 19. The visit was conducted in accordance with the ICRC’s standard rules.

Thanks to the vigilance of Azerbaijani units, Armenian deserter soldier Aro Kazaryan was detained on the morning of August 12 in the Fuzuli direction of the front line of Azerbaijani and Armenian troops.

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, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions onwithdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.