There are no POWs in Armenia and Artsakh – Deputy defense minister denies Azerbaijani claims

Armenia’s deputy defense minister Gabriel Balayan denies the Azerbaijani claims according to which Azerbaijan proposed Armenia to carry out exchange of prisoners of war (POW).

After today’s Cabinet meeting, the deputy defense minister told reporters that this is an absolute lie.

“Before I left the ministry, in other words, at 10:20, there was no such a proposal. According to the procedure, we receive such proposals mainly through the channels of the Red Cross”, he said.

Balayan added that he cannot understand what the talk is about, given the fact that there are no POWs both in Armenia and Artsakh. “We are working quite openly. If there was such an initiative by their side, I suppose that the Red Cross, which perfectly knows the situation, understands very well that it is their domestic statement, or maybe it is directed for some foreign stakeholders, which doesn’t have any grounds”, the deputy minister said.