Azerbaijan politicizes humanitarian problems hampering search for missing, war prisoners

On May 31, Foreign Minister of Nagorny Karabakh Ashot Gulian received co-chairmen of the International Working Group to Search for the Missing, Hostages and Prisoners of War in the Karabakh Conflict Zone, Bernhard Clasen and Svetlana Gannushkina, as well as Working Group coordinators, Karina Minasian (Armenia), Avaz Gasanov (Azerbaijan) and Albert Voskanian (Nagorny Karabakh), who had arrived in Stepanakert for a working visit the day before.

Ashot Gulian expressed hope that the experience accumulated by the International Working Group would help solve humanitarian problems it faced, reported the press service of the Nagorno-Karabakh Foreign Ministry. At the same time, the minister pointed out that the unreasonable politicization of the problem of the missing and war prisoners by Azerbaijan and far-fetched accusations against Armenia and Nagorny-Karabakh hamper the search work very much and create the atmosphere of distrust.

The representatives of the Working Group also stated that it was inadmissible to politicize humanitarian problems.

They had one more meeting yesterday. They met with members of the Nagorno-Karabakh State Commission on Prisoners of War and the Missing.