Armenian, Azeri, Russian Presidents adopt joint statement

Armenian, Azeri, Russian Presidents adopt joint statement


March 05, 2011 | 17:56

The Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian Presidents adopted a joint statement on the result of their meeting in Sochi.

The leader discussed the implementation of the trilateral agreement adopted at their meeting in Astrakhan, October 27, 2010. Specifically, the President agreed to complete the POW exchange process as soon as possible, says the statement.

The document underlines the necessity for settling all the disputable issues in peaceful means and investigating possible incidents along the line of contact with the sides’ participation, under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, with the assistance of the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office.

The three Presidents also pointed out the high importance of their regular contacts over the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and agreed to maintain them in this format, in addition to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs’ activities.

Armenian News-NEWS.am reminds readers that, at their meeting in Astrakhan, October 27, the Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian Presidents approved a joint statement on their meeting in Astrakhan. The sides agreed to exchange the POWs and bodies of killed soldiers.

The sides negotiated the return of eight POWs, six civilians, as well as dead bodies. Azerbaijan was to return Manvel Saribelkyan’s body, and the Armenian side the bodies of Muraz Ibragimov and Farid Ahmedov.

Manvel Saribekyan

Saribekyan was arrested on September 11 on the frontline of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan and Armenia. The Azerbaijani side called him an Armenian saboteur. Shortly after his detention, Azerbaijan’s ANS TV broadcast a report in which Manvel Saribekyan was identified “for his training in subversive activities in Azerbaijan.’’ The corresponding video appeared on YouTube.

Subsequently, information was received from Baku that “Saribekyan had committed suicide.” According to a report Manvel Saribekyan was found with a strangulated scar on the neck characteristic to a person who has been hanged and forensic experts did not find traces of violence on his body.

According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, Saribekyan was a lost shepherd who was looking for his missing cattle and crossed the Armenia-Azerbaijani border; Azerbaijan persistently said Saribekyan was a member of an Armenian diversion group. Following this, the Azerbaijani propaganda machine spread an “interview” with Mr. Saribekyan through YouTube, in which he stated that he had been trained for terrorist acts on Azerbaijan’s territory. However, expert assessment of the video concluded that the video was filmed under physical and psychological pressure.

On October 26, Azerbaijani authorities handed over the death certificate of the deceased to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The Order of the Prosecutor General of Armenia initiated criminal proceedings under Part 2 of Article 104 of RA Criminal Code (premeditated murder with extreme cruelty).

After the examination held in Armenia, doctors concluded that Saribekyan’s death occurred as a result of violence.



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