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Azerbaijan returns ten soldiers to Armenia - state commission

They were detained during the clashes on November 16 on the countries’ border

© Alexander Ryumin/TASS, archive

BAKU, December 19. / TASS /. Azerbaijan has handed over to Armenia ten servicemen, who were detained during the clashes on November 16 on the countries’ border, Baku’s State Commission for Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons said on Sunday, noting that the process was mediated by the EU.

"In order to manifest its commitment to the principles of humanism, Azerbaijan through the EU handed over ten Armenian servicemen to [their homeland] on December 19," the state commission said.

According to the state commission, those servicemen "were apprehended while preventing the provocation by the Armenian forces on the Kalbajar direction on November 16, 2021."

Earlier, on December 4, Baku also transferred to Armenia more than ten servicemen, which were captured during the clashes on November 16. Back then, the process was facilitated by the Russian side. In return, Yerevan handed over mine maps of Karabakh to Baku.

On November 16, violent clashes between the armed forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan broke out at their border. Yerevan said the Azeri military began advancing into Armenian territory, threatening the highway that connects the Armenian capital with the country’s southern regions and Iran. Baku pinned the blame on Yerevan, saying the Armenian armed forces had staged a provocation by attacking Azeri positions.

In response to the events, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu held phone talks with his counterparts in Armenia and Azerbaijan. The situation later returned to normal after Azerbaijan and Armenia sought to stabilize it, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.

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