ICRC has no agreement yet on visiting Armenians held in Baku: Amatuni

There is currently no agreement between the parties for the International Committee of the Red Cross, acting as a neutral intermediary as part of its humanitarian mission, to visit Armenians held in Azerbaijan again. This was reported to Sputnik Armenia by Zara Amatuni, Head of Public Relations and Communications Programs for the ICRC delegation in Armenia.

It was previously reported that Veronika Zonabend, wife of Ruben Vardanyan, the former State Minister of Artsakh held in Baku, is planning to organize an international women’s humanitarian delegation to visit the Armenian prisoners. Media subsequently reported that representatives of the Armenian government met with Veronika Zonabend and Siranush Sahakyan, a lawyer representing the interests of the Armenian prisoners at the ECHR.

Amatuni explained that even if things go well, she would not be able to announce visit plans in advance. “In general, in such cases, we can only make this information public after the visit has taken place,” she said.

Amatuni noted that if all procedures are followed and, most importantly, if consent is obtained, they are ready to organize a visit very quickly. “At this moment, we have not received confirmation of our request,” she added.