Mirzoyan: We Appealed to Partner Countries to Visit Armenians Detained in Azerbaijan, Without Result

Armenia asked partner countries to visit Armenians detained in Azerbaijan, but the efforts did not produce results. Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan announced this in the National Assembly during Government Hour, answering a deputy's question.

The deputy asked the minister under which mechanisms of international law Armenia had appealed to third countries and why these requests were not met. He also recalled Mirzoyan's earlier statement, according to which Azerbaijan told intermediary countries to keep their distance in response to these efforts.

Mirzoyan explained that Azerbaijan's response concerned the intermediary countries, not Armenia. "They were told to keep their distance from third countries," he said.

According to the minister, international practice includes a mechanism under which a state that does not have a diplomatic mission in a given country asks a partner country to provide consular assistance to its citizens, including visiting them in a penitentiary institution. Armenia appealed to common partners precisely through this channel, but the initiative proved unsuccessful.

Mirzoyan said the issue of Armenians detained in Azerbaijan is a permanent part of Armenia's agenda. In his view, it is not advisable to make public all the steps taken.

"We have taken steps that I can talk about from this rostrum, and we have taken others that I do not want to discuss here, because I would have to name other countries and might put them in an awkward position. I do not want to do that, because it would damage our international relations," the minister said.

He said that, given the sensitivity of the issue, attention should be focused on results. "Why do I not like talking about this constantly? Because it is such a sensitive issue that either there is a result or there is not," Mirzoyan noted.