Azerbaijan and Armenia agree to exchange prisoners

The authorities of Azerbaijan and Armenia have announced further steps to normalize relations and establish peace, including the exchange of prisoners and the continuation of negotiations on a peace agreement.

This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing a joint statement by the offices of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

In the joint statement, the offices of the Armenian Prime Minister and the President of Azerbaijan agree that "a historic opportunity has arisen to achieve the long-awaited peace in the region" and the intention to reach a peace agreement "based on respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity."

For reasons of humanitarianism and "as a gesture of goodwill," Azerbaijan agreed to release 32 Armenian soldiers, and Armenia, in turn, released two Azerbaijani soldiers.

In addition, Yerevan decided to withdraw its bid to host the next UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in favor of Baku and called on other countries in the Eastern European region to support Azerbaijan.

In response, Azerbaijan supported Armenia's candidacy for membership in the Bureau of the Eastern European Group of COP.

"Armenia and Azerbaijan will continue negotiations on the implementation of additional confidence-building measures in the near future, and call on the international community to support their efforts, which will contribute to the establishment of mutual trust between the two countries and will have a positive impact on the entire South Caucasus region," the statement said.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 08/12/2023