Rep. Sherman: It seems to be that Azerbaijan gave Armenian POWs access to ICRC in response to US efforts
U.S. Congressman Brad Sherman on Thursday spoke with Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker regarding Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) in Azerbaijan.
“Azerbaijan is in violation of the ceasefire agreement by not having released all POWs,” Sherman tweeted.
“I am glad to hear the State Dept. has had multiple, substantive conversations with Baku calling for the release of all POWs. It seems to be that Baku gave POWs access to ICRC in response to US efforts. I will continue to work with the State Dept. to release all POWs,” the congressman said.
Incidentally, Azerbaijan announced that it has returned all the prisoners of war to Armenia, calling those Armenians who are still being held in the country "saboteurs".
Azerbaijan also failed to provide sufficient information to the European Court of Human Rights on Armenian POWs (as part of an interim measure applied by the ECHR in the case of Armenia v. Azerbaijan). As a result, the ECHR notified the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe of the issue.
Today I spoke with Assistant Secretary Reeker @StateDept regarding #Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is in violation of the ceasefire agreement by not having released all POWs. (1/2)
— Rep. Brad Sherman (@BradSherman) March 18, 2021