"Armenian conscripts sent to Karabakh after November 9": Lavrov confirms official Baku's version

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Armenia had abandoned its soldiers in Karabakh after the conclusion of the trilateral agreement of November 9, that is, it sent troops to the territory of Azerbaijan, despite the cessation of hostilities.

"Subsequently, there was an exchange of those who were participants in the events that ended on November 9. Now the main issue is the question that arose in the Hadrut region in December, when most of the Armenian soldiers sent there were captured.They were captured within a week - ten days - at the beginning of December, 62 people. The Azerbaijani side stated that since these people were transferred to the region after the ceasefire, they should be considered in a separate order," Lavrov said during a press conference on the outcomes of Russian diplomacy in 2020.

"Russia wants to make efforts to finally close the issue of returning Armenian prisoners," he said, noting that at first the Armenian side could not draw up lists of prisoners. "It turned out that there are much more prisoners than 62, as mentioned earlier. And now our military is in contact with the military of Armenia and Azerbaijan, the lists are being verified in order to understand where these people may be," the Russian Foreign Minister noted.

He further reiterated that the issue of prisoners of war in "its current version" arose in early December, that is, a month after the signing of the November 9 agreement. Thus, Sergei Lavrov fully confirmed the information previously announced by official Baku: Armenian saboteurs captured by the Azerbaijani special forces were thrown into the Hadrut region by Armenia after the surrender. Azerbaijan considers these soldiers as terrorists and saboteurs, and the agreement of November 9, respectively, does not apply to them, since they were sent by Armenia after its conclusion.