23:27, 9 February 2007

Mailyan: there are no prisoners of war and hostages in Nagorny Karabakh

Mr. Leo Platvoet, PACE Rapporteur on the issues of missing people in South Caucasus, has prepared a report, which was also submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nagorny Karabakh. The correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot" has addressed for comments to Mr. Masis Mailyan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorny Karabakh Republic (NKR).

"The PACE Rapporteur has put unverified data into his report, which he obtained in Baku. According to the data of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for 1997, the total number of persons who disappeared in the Karabakh conflict zone - both Armenians and Azerbaijanis - had made 2229 persons. With account of the fact these data were gathered by the ICRC during three years after the armistice was concluded, they could not undergo any significant change thereafter," Masis Mailyan has noted.

"Back in 1995, the authorities of Nagorny Karabakh delivered to the Azerbaijani party all the prisoners of war and hostages captured during combat operations," the Deputy Minister of the NKR has added.

Author: Naira Ayrumian, CK correspondent