What is happening to Armenian prisoners of war and hostages in Baku constitutes a flagrant violation of international and humanitarian law. All this corresponds to the image of Baku as a state sponsor of terrorism and banditry, moreover the latter does not even try to hide its crimes.

According to the statement signed on November 9, the Armenian prisoners should have been returned, although three years have passed, but not only have most of them not been returned, but today 40 of the Armenian prisoners of war are tried on the basis of false accusations. It cannot be ruled out that many other prisoners of war will suffer the same fate. Baku also uses prisoners to implement its political projects. Irrefutable proof of this was obtained in 2021, when Azerbaijani media on June 15 published part of the conversation between the country’s President, Ilham Aliyev, the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his wife, Emine Erdogan. In 2021, during their trip to the occupied city of Shushi in Artsakh, where Erdogan and Aliyev discussed the issue of the return of Armenian prisoners in exchange for maps of mined areas of Artsakh. Aliyev admitted that if they obtain complete maps of the minefields, they will have a great advantage, because it will take at least 10 years to clear these areas.

It is also worth recalling that during the visit to the occupied Armenian territories, Ankara and Baku signed the Shushi Declaration, the aim of which was “post-war cooperation and promotion of stability in the region” between the Turkey and Azerbaijan. The heart of the declaration was defense cooperation, according to which they should assist each other “in the event of a threat or attack against the independence or territorial integrity of one of the two States by a third State.” .

It is clear that the term “third state” meant above all Armenia, against which the infamous Shushi declaration aimed the use of military forces. We have already seen the consequences of this statement in 2023. In other words, neither Turkey nor Azerbaijan is inclined towards regional peace and will continue to implement an aggressive policy against Armenia and the Armenian people.