Azerbaijan's release of Armenian captives would greatly help reconciliation – Armenian Ambassador to Russia

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YEREVAN, November 6. /ARKA/. The release of Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan would greatly help in reconciling Yerevan and Baku, Armenian Ambassador to the Russian Federation Gurgen Arsenyan told journalists after presenting his credentials to Russian president at a ceremony on Tuesday./pp

Such a step would greatly help reconciliation, he noted, adding that the remaining questions regarding the release of the detainees should be directed to the Azerbaijani side, TASS reports./pp

Arsenyan also said that if Yerevan and Baku were moving towards a peace treaty and planned to announce ‘to the whole world that the two states, two nations would live in peace and cooperation,’ they should begin with steps that ‘can be commended./pp

He declined to comment on a separate question about Ruben Vardanyan (a Russia-based Armenian businessman, who served for a short time as Prime Minister of Karabakh, currently in a Baku prison), noting that for Yerevan, there is no distinction between citizens of Armenia./pp

Azerbaijan officially confirms holding only 33 Armenian prisoners of war and civilians, but human rights activists in Armenia report that there are another 80 Armenian detainees. -0-/pp nbsp;/p br