No:280/23, Press Release on circulation of the letter of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov addressed to the UN Secretary-General as UN Security Council and the General Assembly documents regarding Azerbaijani servicemen captured by Armenia
The letter of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov addressed to the UN Secretary-General regarding Agshin Babirov and Huseyn Akhundov, Azerbaijani servicemen captured by Armenia, was circulated as documents of the UN Security Council and the General Assembly.
The letter expresses serious concern over Armenia's refusal to return the servicemen of the Azerbaijan Army, who got lost due to adverse weather conditions and were subsequently captured by the armed forces of Armenia, and were subjected to torture and other inhumane treatment and initiated a fabricated criminal case, in violation of international humanitarian law and obligations.
It was brought to the attention of the UN Secretary-General that, notwithstanding the evidence demonstrating torture and other criminal acts in social networks and other publicly available sources, Armenia pursues the aim of exploiting the two captured Azerbaijani servicemen as a bargaining chip, instead of bringing the perpetrators to justice.
To that end, the letter expresses protest over the “trial process” on the fabricated accusations against the servicemen of Azerbaijan and the sentencing of Agshin Babirov to prison for 11 years, 6 months, and 15 days.
It is noted in the letter that with this irresponsible behavior and contradictory statements made by Armenian officials regarding servicemen of Azerbaijan, Armenia once again demonstrates its disregard for international humanitarian law and principles of humanism.
Armenia’s failure to reciprocate with this irresponsible step to the confidence-building measures of Azerbaijan for the immediate and unconditional return of the Armenian detainees, especially of more than 10 soldiers who got lost and crossed the border, demonstrates that Armenia is not interested in reconciliation and confidence-building measures in the region.
It is recalled that all these provocative steps of Armenia coincided with redoubled efforts of the international community to advance the normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The letter states that the aforementioned so-called “trial process” organized by Armenia took place just a few days after four-day negotiations hosted in Washington and on the eve of the meetings of the heads of state of the two countries arranged by the European Union and other partners.
Closing the letter, the UN Secretary-General is called to condemn the provocative action of Armenia, accompanied by a gross violation of international humanitarian law, and for the immediate cessation of such provocations, and to persuade Armenia immediately and unconditionally release Azerbaijani servicemen, in line with its relevant international obligations, based on the principle of respecting their dignity and life.
The letter can be accessed through the following page of the UN: http://undocs.org/A/77/886