“During both the Homeland Salvation Movement and the entire pre-election campaigns, I said two things. We would have two main tasks after coming to power: the restoration of the security system and the maintenance of the borders, and the return of POWs,” the I Have Honor alliance’s candidate for prime minister and head of the Hayrenik political party, Artur Vanetsyan, said during a press conference on Wednesday in reference to a reminder of how he had announced during the Homeland Salvation Movement that it would have been possible to return all POWs in 2-3 days, including through personal connections, and in response to a question of how although they are not the ruling party, they will have serious levers in parliament, so what are their plans for the return of POWs.
Artur Vanetsyan noted that his famous statement was followed by many speculations and he clarified that he said, “If we come to power, have the levers of power, the opportunity to act on behalf of the state, and use the levers of the state, in case we work properly, proper work, yes, we can return the POWs in 2-3 days.”
Reminding that during the pre-election campaign, Nikol Pashinyan returned 15 POWs in exchange for minefield maps, Artur Vanetsyan raised the question: if it was possible, why was it not done earlier? He thinks that the POWs did not try to solve the issue of the captives completely; it solved the issue at the time for its rating. “Now, if they could give those maps to Azerbaijan and return the POWs, why didn’t they do it six months ago?”
Moreover, the Russian side made a statement in the press that when Muradov wanted those maps, the Armenian armed forces said that such maps did not exist in nature. “Muradov said he could return all the POWs in Azerbaijan in exchange for those maps.” And if the alliance led by him decides to go to parliament, Artur Vanetsyan assured that they will use all the available opportunities to deal with both the issue of POWs and the restoration of the security system.
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Nelly Grigoryan
