International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Peter Maurer stated this in an interview with Izvestia today, said that the ICRC is ready to assist in the exchange of prisoners of war between Baku and Yerevan, but the dispute over the status of detainees should be resolved by Azerbaijan and Armenia themselves.

Peter Maurer also stressed that this year the Red Cross has increased the funding of its mission in Nagorno-Karabakh fivefold to € 50 million. 

Maurer told Izvestia that Red Cross officials have visited Armenian detainees in Azerbaijan but would not comment on the conditions in which they are being held.  

“We visit to assess the conditions of the people, but as you know, this is a confidential process for the ICRC. We are working with all the authorities in the region to make our comments to the relevant authorities, and for now I cannot say more,” he said.

Maurer confirmed that Baku regards some of the Armenians still held in Azerbaijan as “saboteurs” and not POWs.

“We can share our experience, we can offer advice, but the respective governments must determine and make a final assessment of the status themselves. We are in contact with both sides. And I hope that in the future it will be possible to find a solution to the problem for all detainees who are in Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Maurer said.

The Armenian government claims all Azerbaijani detainees have been returned.

Photo by Ahmad Al-Rubaye / AFP