Armenia responds to Azerbaijan's request for return of body of dead serviceman

Armenia has sent a response to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Yerevan to Azerbaijan's request for the return of the body of a deceased Azerbaijani serviceman, Trend reports.

The Armenian armed forces opened fire on Azerbaijani soldiers on June 19. Four Armenian servicemen were killed and four were wounded in the incident. Azerbaijani soldier Mubariz Ibrahimov was killed. His body remained in neutral territory.

"Only the Azerbaijani state officials and Ibrahimov's family are familiar with the content of message," the source reported.

Azerbaijani Defence Ministry Spokesman, Colonel-Lieutenant Eldar Sabiroglu said the
ministry believes the ICRC will continue its mission until it achieves its aim. Otherwise it could become the basis for a new precedent in the future, and the responsibility will lie on the Armenian side, he said.

"Armenia makes out that Ibrahimov's body is neither in Armenia nor in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh," Sabiroglu said.

The body of the Azerbaijani dead soldier must be returned soon, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said in today's news conference.