Mirzoyan comments on Nasimi Musayev’s return to Azerbaijan

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has outlined Yerevan’s official position on the detention and return of Azerbaijani Army serviceman Nasimi Musayev, speaking to journalists in parliament.

“Operative Information Center-OMM” reports, citing the Sputnik Armenia news agency, that Mirzoyan said the Azerbaijani serviceman could not be handed over immediately and directly, regardless of the circumstances in which he entered Armenian territory, and that legal procedures had to be followed.

The Armenian foreign minister said the other side was treating the incident as a legal matter, regardless of whether the serviceman had lost his way accidentally:

“Regardless of whether he lost his way, a crime is alleged to have been committed, and this changes the situation from a legal standpoint. All investigative and legal procedures must be fully observed,” Mirzoyan claimed.

The minister also said he had no precise information on whether the serviceman had deliberately crossed the border or left his military unit without authorization.

Commenting on cases involving civilians, such as shepherds, who accidentally cross the border, and servicemen who lose their way, Mirzoyan said Azerbaijan and Armenia had a goodwill agreement to return such people on humanitarian grounds:

“I have also followed media reports about a shepherd who lost his way. From the Armenian side, servicemen or shepherds also occasionally lose their direction and cross to the other side. The parties have an agreement to resolve such cases through reciprocal exchanges and handovers in a constructive manner, and this mechanism is not linked to the exchange of prisoners of war. We hope this humanitarian arrangement will continue to operate in the future,” the minister added.

This is the second similar incident reported along the border in the past month. At the end of September, reports said Azerbaijani Army serviceman Nasimi Musayev crossed the conditional border, possibly because of weather conditions or after losing his way, and entered the village of Sheki in the Sisian district of Western Zangezur (Syunik). Armenian law enforcement authorities said the serviceman was detained during an incident involving local resident Ani Avetisyan and that a court ordered his pretrial detention.

In October, an Azerbaijani shepherd from the village of Chatax in the Tovuz district was also reported to have accidentally crossed the conditional border and ended up on the other side. Armenia’s National Security Service said it was investigating the incident.