The European Union’s (EU) response to the issue of Armenian captives in Azerbaijan is an additional lever to put pressure on Baku, says Armenian representative to the European Court. Yeghishe Kirakosyan hopes that it will be sobering for Azerbaijan.
“I am convinced that such a statement is an important circumstance, it was a development after the debates in the Parliamentary Assembly, when there was very sharp criticism of Azerbaijan and a demand to release the captives quickly. I hope it will have an impact in the near future,” says Yeghishe Kirakosyan, Representative of Armenia to the European Court of Human Rights.
Kirakosyan emphasizes once again that sorting the captives and calling the hostages in Azerbaijan after November 9 saboteurs and terrorists are futile attempts of political manipulation.
“It is necessary to continue working with international organizations, to intensify the work, to make the work more targeted, although so far multi-layered work has been done both through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and through our representations,” Kirakosyan says.
Kirakosyan considered the work on the issue of prisoners through the European Court important. According to him, as long as Baku does not fulfill its commitment to return the captives, this format of activity should be maintained.
“I think maybe there is a need to intensify ties at the bilateral level, although I am sure that our Foreign Ministry is working,” Kirakosyan says.
Baku has not submitted a new confirmation of the captives to the Strasbourg court. So far, it admitted that only 72 people have been arrested.
Meanwhile, the Armenian side initially applied for urgent measures for more than 240 people.
