In a conversation with Radar Armenia, referring to the fact that Azerbaijan did not fulfill the high-level agreements to return the captured service members, Vladimir Vardanyan, the chairman of the RA NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs, said: "We must record that Azerbaijan violates the provisions of the Geneva Conventions because, in modern international law, failure to return a prisoner of war, delaying the return is considered an international war crime and is considered a serious violation of the Geneva Convention."

However, the deputy found it challenging to say what purpose Azerbaijan is pursuing with that step. According to him, Azerbaijan is trying to make its diplomacy much more flexible on some issues with "hostage negotiations." "But it should be clearly stated that the repatriation of captives is an international obligation undertaken not only by Armenia, but also by the entire international community, and the captives must be returned immediately."

According to Vladimir Vardanyan, the Azerbaijani side is trying to take all possible measures to be in a better-negotiating position. "But it seems that in that process, most of the sympathies of the international community went from Azerbaijan to Armenia. Rather, it has never happened to Azerbaijan. And we should record that the substantive negotiation process is critical, and we will move in that direction demanding Azerbaijan to settle this issue at the negotiating table."

It is worth noting that Armen Grigoryan, the Secretary of the RA Council of Ministers, informed that on September 27, at the initiative of US President Joe Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, during a meeting between him and Azerbaijani President's Assistant Hikmet Hajiyev at the White House, a tripartite agreement was reached that until September 30, Azerbaijan will release the 17 Armenian prisoners of war captured in September, but once again Azerbaijan has not fulfilled its commitment.

Hayk Magoyan