Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) are seen during a swap at the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border on Dec. 13, 2023, which also included the release of two Azerbiajani military personnel. (Credit: Stringer/AFP)
Armenia and Azerbaijan on Wednesday swapped prisoners of war, their first step towards normalisation since peace talks stalled after Baku recaptured the long-disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The neighbors had been locked in a protracted conflict for control of Karabakh, predominantly Armenian-populated, which Azerbaijan reclaimed in September after a large-scale military offensive against Armenian forces who had controlled the enclave for three decades.
The attack occurred amid an escalating crisis caused by Azerbaijan blockading the enclave, which local Armenians refer to as Artsakh. The blockade resulted in significant scarcities of essential supplies such as food, medicine, and other goods.
Normalisation talks — mediated separately by the European Union, the United States, and Russia — have since stalled, despite both countries saying a peace agreement could be signed by the end of this year.
On Wednesday, "Azerbaijan freed 32 Armenian military, Armenia freed two Azerbaijani military," Azerbaijan's state commission for prisoners of war said in a statement.
It added that "the exchange took place at the Gazakh sector of the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border."
"Armenian soldiers were handed to Armenia after the International Committee of the Red Cross examined their health and made a positive conclusion," the statement said.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan published on his Facebook page a list of 32 freed Armenian servicemen.
This happened after Baku and Yerevan last week released a joint statement pledging to seize "a historical chance to achieve a long-awaited peace in the region" and announced a POWs swap.
The European Union, United States, as well as regional powers Turkey and Russia praised the statement as a "breakthrough."
Yerevan said in November that a total of 55 Armenian prisoners of war were being held by Baku.
The number included six civilians, 41 military, and eight separatist leaders arrested in the wake of Baku's military operation in September.
The neighbors had been locked in a protracted conflict for control of Karabakh, predominantly Armenian-populated, which Azerbaijan reclaimed in September after a...