Azerbaijan and Armenia exchanged prisoners of war

On December 13, Armenia and Azerbaijan exchanged prisoners of war. 32 Armenians and two Azerbaijanis were released from captivity.

This was reported by the press service of the Azerbaijan State Commission for Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Citizens.

The exchange took place on the border of the two countries. The discharged soldiers will soon undergo a medical examination and return to their families.

Earlier, Armenia and Azerbaijan announced the exchange of prisoners of war. They talked about the same number of detainees: Baku promised to release 32 Armenian soldiers, Yerevan — two Azerbaijani ones.

• On September 19, Azerbaijan informed about the start of an "anti-terrorist operation" in Nagorno-Karabakh to "restore constitutional order." After a day of fighting and shelling, the unrecognized NKR capitulated, and the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev announced the restoration of the countryʼs sovereignty. On September 20, Azerbaijan put forward demands — the dissolution of the government of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and the disarmament of all its formations. After that, NKR forces began to hand over equipment and weapons, and Armenians began to leave Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan begins the reintegration of the region.
• The unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) will officially cease to exist on January 1, 2024.
• Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing, but Baku denies this, saying Armenians can remain in Karabakh. The United Nations mission, which visited Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan for the first time in 30 years, did not see any oppression of the ethnic population.
• On October 12, 2023, Armenia filed a lawsuit at the UN International Court of Justice against Azerbaijan to force it to withdraw all military and law enforcement personnel from all civilian facilities in Nagorno-Karabakh.