Friday, July 30 2021 15:59

ArmInfo. On July 30, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Armen Grigoryan received Thierry Ribaux, the Head of the Delegation of the  International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Armenia, the press  service of the Armenian foreign ministry informs. 

During the meeting Armen Grigoryan stressed the need for immediate  repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians illegally  detained in Azerbaijan, and underlined the inadmissibility of their  pr®secution under false charges by the Azerbaijani authorities.

Armen Grigoryan particularly mentioned that according to the third  Geneva Convention, the latter have the status of prisoners of war, so  they must be under the protection of international humanitarian law.  He added that the policy of Azerbaijan contradicts the Provision 8 of  the November 9 trilateral Statement, according to which the exchange  of prisoners of war, civilians and others detained was to be held.

It was emphasized that Azerbaijan denies the fact that a large number  of prisoners of war reported by numerous sources are under its  control, refusing to provide information about them, including their  places of detention. Such behavior raises serious suspicions that  severe crimes were committed by Azerbaijan against the prisoners of  war, including enforced disappearances.

Touching upon the issue of providing humanitarian aid to the affected  population, Armen Grigoryan emphasized the need to expand the  presence of international humanitarian organizations in Artsakh.

During the meeting Armen Grigoryan drew attention to the humanitarian  situation resulting from Azerbaijan's attacks against the sovereign  territory of Armenia, expressing concern that the continued presence  of the Azerbaijani armed forces in the territory of Armenia disrupts  the normal life of the population living in border areas and leads to  violations of their rights.

The head of the ICRC delegation, in his turn, briefed on the steps  being undertaken by the organization to ensure the communication  between the prisoners and their families, as well as presented in  detail the work carried out by the ICRC in the border areas.