News - Comprehensive peace will also assume return of captives, Armenia Security Council head says

The return of Armenian captives from Azerbaijan was and remains on the agenda of the Armenian authorities. The Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan, told this to reporters Wednesday during the forum entitled "Building the Future"—and answering the question whether it is realistic to sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan without the returning of Armenian captives, including representatives of Artsakh's (Nagorno-Karabakh) military and political leadership, by Azerbaijan. As per Grigoryan, the issue of captives is constantly being discussed with the Azerbaijani side and international partners, and intensive work is being done in that regard. "I think that it is not correct to correlate this with the issue of signing the peace treaty, as, in our opinion, the latter should return to Armenia as soon as possible. It would be right for us to continue working in that direction [i.e. to conclude the peace treaty] so that the captives return as soon as possible. The establishment of peace means the return of captives. We must work so that the establishment of peace is comprehensive and in all directions," said Grigoryan. According to official data, there are 23 Armenian captives in Azerbaijan, and 17 of them were captured as a result of the 2023 military aggression by Azerbaijan. In addition to ordinary Armenian civilians, three former presidents of Artsakh—Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan and Arayik Harutyunyan, former state minister Ruben Vardanyan, former deputy commander of the Defense Army Davit Manukyan, former commander of the Defense Army Levon Mnatsakanyan, and former minister of foreign affairs David Babayan are in Azerbaijani prisons.