Azerbaijan Demands Shushi-Karmir Shuka Road in Exchange for Prisoners: Kommersant

Azerbaijan's reluctance to return prisoners to Armenia complicates even Moscow's situation. The Russian publication Kommersant has published an article addressing the issue of Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan.

The failure to return prisoners captured in last year's war to Armenia has become not just a bilateral issue but an international one, the article states. Both the U.S. and Russia have been attempting to influence Baku in vain. This problem not only complicates the implementation of peace agreements reached with Russian mediation but also hinders Azerbaijan's rapprochement with Russian-led integration units in the post-Soviet space.

The article notes that Azerbaijan is attempting to condition the release of prisoners of war on the fulfillment of its demands, which generally concern territorial issues. For instance, a source familiar with the situation told Kommersant that the Azerbaijani side has raised the issue of handing over control of the Shushi-Karmir Shuka road, currently monitored by Russian peacekeepers and Armenian troops. Control over this road would greatly facilitate Azerbaijan's access to Shushi.

Sources from Kommersant also indicate that Baku has raised the question of returning several villages in Nagorno-Karabakh's Kashatagh province to its control. However, none of these matters have been resolved.