Acting Armenian Minister of Defense Davit Tonoyan today met with the parents of Karen Ghazaryan, a resident of the Tavoush village of Berdavan who mistakenly crossed the border into Azerbaijan in June of this year and has been held captive since.

Ghazaryan’s parents raised concerns about their son’s health to Tonoyan.

Tonoyan, who chairs Armenia’s Committee on Prisoners, Hostages and MIA’s, stated that the Armenian government is closely working with the International Red Cross and the Minsk Group Co-chairs for Ghazaryan’s return.

Tonoyan, according to an Armenian government press release, said he believe Azerbaijani authorities will not regard the issue of returning Ghazaryan, a purely humanitarian matter, in the context of an exchange of prisoners between two warring nations.