YEREVAN — Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on Thursday described the issue of captives and illegally detained individuals as one of the most painful and unresolved aspects of Armenia’s ongoing talks with Azerbaijan, noting that there is currently no constructive dialogue on the matter.
“This remains perhaps the only issue where there is no real conversation at all with Azerbaijan,” Mirzoyan told reporters at the National Assembly. “There was a significant exchange [of captives] during the COP [Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity], which marked the last tangible development. Since then, the process has stalled.”
Mirzoyan acknowledged that while some dialogue continues, it has failed to produce results. “Unfortunately, we have nothing positive to report at this stage,” he said.
The foreign minister expressed hope that a final peace agreement with Azerbaijan would help create conditions for progress on humanitarian issues.
“If we manage to sign a genuine and lasting peace treaty, we will move forward with border delimitation, unblocking of regional infrastructure, and a broader settlement. Even if the issue of captives is not resolved by then, we believe a peace deal would create a more favorable environment to address it,” Mirzoyan added.