Ombudsman criticizes Pashinyan for speculation on POW topic

Acting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan instructed the authorities to send an official proposal to Azerbaijan to exchange prisoners of war (POWs) for his son, Nikol Pashinyan himself has announced today. The use of the topic on the return of POWs is a manifestation of disrespect for the military personnel and their families, and such a speculation complicates the return of soldiers to their homeland, Armenian Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan notes.

Today, during a meeting with voters in the village of Mets Mantash in the Shirak Region, Nikol Pashinyan has announced that he instructed the authorities to send to Azerbaijan a proposal with regard to the exchange of prisoners of war. “I instructed the relevant authorities to officially send to the Azerbaijani side our proposal that my son is ready to go to them as a prisoner in exchange for the return of all the other prisoners," declared the chairman of the Armenian government as quoted by the “Sputnik Armenia”.

Arman Tatoyan, Ombudsman of Armenia, reacted to the declarations about the exchange of POWs and demanded to stop speculation on the return of prisoners of war during the pre-election campaign. “The officials should not complicate the process of exchange of POWs with speculations, but they should make real efforts to return our compatriots kept in illegal captivity in Azerbaijan. The speculations only increase tension in the country and complicate the return of prisoners. Such actions can only increase for the Azerbaijani authorities the ‘price’ of returning the captives. And, of course, there is obvious disrespect for the prisoners and their family members, their feelings,” Arman Tatoyan wrote on his Facebook page.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 9, 2021 at 12:59 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.