Yerevan marchers urge Russia to help in solving POWs' problem

In Armenia, over a thousand activists have marched to the Russian Embassy in Yerevan to convey a request to the Ambassador to intervene in the process of transferring prisoners of war (POWs) and handing over the bodies of the perished soldiers. The Prime Minister of Armenia has called on political parties to unite in order to speed up the return of Armenian POWs from Azerbaijan.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 16, soldiers' relatives stated at a rally near the building of the Armenian Ministry of Defence (MoD) that the authorities were hushing up the data about those missing. On November 28, relatives blocked the main street of Stepanakert with a demand to ensure the return of the POWs and the transfer of the bodies of the perished military servicemen. On the same day, art workers staged an action in Yerevan with a call not to give "an inch of land to Azerbaijan until all the POWs are returned home."

In Yerevan, culture figures held a march in support of the relatives of the servicemen missing and killed in Nagorno-Karabakh, the "Armenian News" reports.

To speed up the return of Armenian POWs from Azerbaijan, it is necessary to end the strife within the country, Nikol Pashinyan, the Premier, has urged, the RIA "Novosti" reports.

Earlier, Pashinyan stated that hundreds of soldiers are listed as missing. On November 19, the Armenia Minister of Public Health confirmed the death of 2425 soldiers of the Defence Army of Nagorno-Karabakh. Mikael Minasyan, an oppositionist, believes that the authorities are underestimating the losses, and insists on the figure of 4750.