U.S. Department has again urged Armenia to free Azerbaijani raiders.
Commenting on Assistant Secretary Victoria Nuland's latest statement in Armenia, State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said at the Daily Press Briefings: "Well, we've previously advocated through Ambassador Warlick and others the release of these two prisoners to the Government of Azerbaijan. We - she [Nuland - editor's note] also urged relevant authorities to return the two prisoners to the Government of Azerbaijan. The sides have generally found a way in the past to return prisoners as a humanitarian gesture, and such humanitarian gestures have been shown to reduce tensions and build trust between the sides. So that's what she was referring to."
To recall, David Babayan, Spokesperson for the NKR President said the Artsakh Republic leadership had repeatedly declared that Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilham Askerov, and the third, liquidated raider Hasan Hasanov, committed terrorist acts in the territory of the Nagorny Karabakh Republic (NKR). The faced a transparent trial with participation of Mass Media and public organizations. U.S. Assistant Secretary Victoria Nuland's calls to free the Azerbaijani raiders convicted in Karabakh are inadmissible to Stepanakert.
"Their guilt was proved during the trial and they confessed and addressed a petition for commutation to NKR President Bako Sahakyan. Stepanakert has already displayed good will and 'human gesture' by avoiding reprisal against the raiders and launching an open and transparent trial like any civilized country would do," Babayan said.
To recall, the Stepanakert General Court sentenced Askerov and Gulyev to life imprisonment and 20 years in prison for illegal crossing of the state border and committing sabotage attacks and vicious murders, respectively.