KUALA LUMPUR: Armenia and Azerbaijan on Thursday agreed to the mutual release of detainees, according to a joint statement from the two countries posted by Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC) on its website.
It said Azerbaijan released 32 Armenian soldiers in exchange for two Azerbaijani soldiers after an agreement was reached following talks between the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister’s Office of Armenia.
The two countries, which have been involved in a 30-year-long conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, shared the view that there is a historical chance to achieve a long-awaited peace in the region.
“Two countries reconfirm their intention to normalise relations and to reach the peace treaty on the basis of respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity,“ the statement read.
As a sign of good gesture, Armenia supports Azerbaijan in its bid to host the 29th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by withdrawing its own candidacy, while Azerbaijan supports Armenian candidature for Eastern European Group COP Bureau membership.
Armenia and Azerbaijan will continue their discussions regarding the implementation of more confidence building measures. They also called on the international community to support their efforts as this will contribute to building mutual trust between the two countries and will positively impact the entire South Caucasus region, said the statement.
According to media reports, relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
Azerbaijan liberated most of the region during the war in the fall of 2020, which ended with a Russian-brokered peace agreement, opening the door to normalisation.
In September, the Azerbaijani army initiated an anti-terrorism operation in Karabakh to establish constitutional order, after which illegal separatist forces in the region surrendered.–Bernama
