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The joint statement by the offices of the Armenian premier and the Azerbaijani president was welcomed by the EU, the U.S. and Turkey. Russia has not yet remarked on it.

According to the statement, Azerbaijan will release 32 Armenian prisoners of war in exchange for the release of two Azerbaijani soldiers detained in Armenia.

Political technologist Armen Badalyan attributed Russia’s silence over the agreement to the absence of former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan among those to be released.

"The West and Russia are fighting for the final say on the peace treaty. The joint statement and the prisoner swap are part of this process,” he told Panorama.am on Friday.

“According to some rumors and other sources, former Artsakh leaders were supposed to be among those returned to Armenia. But their names were removed from the list at the request of the Unites Stated. I cannot say whether it’s true or not. Azerbaijan essentially agreed to this option, which put the Russian side in front of the fact. Such a scenario was undesirable for Moscow. Ruben Vardanyan's return was especially desirable for the Russian side, because I don't think that Vardanyan himself decided to move to Karabakh at that time. Naturally, he went there by the decision of the Russian leadership, at least a part of it. In fact, Russia wanted him out, but it didn't work out," the expert said.

According to him, the release of Ruben Vardanyan and other former Artsakh officials held in Azerbaijan was profoundly important for Russia.

"This could be the reason why Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has not yet issued a statement on the matter,” Badalyan said.