Bodies of 29 Armenian Soldiers, 1 Civilian Returned from Azerbaijan | Asbarez.com

Azerbaijan has handed over to the Armenian side the bodies of 29 Armenian soldiers who were killed in action.

Armenia’s Defense Ministry spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan said the handover was carried out “due to the exclusive mediation efforts of Russia and the participation of a field team from the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office.”

Stepanyan said that one civilian was returned to Armenia with through the efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

“Armenia remains committed to the agreements reached within the framework of the humanitarian ceasefire, and, once again, expresses readiness to hand over to Azerbaijan, the bodies of the Azerbaijani soldiers that are in the territory of Artsakh,” Stepanyan said, adding that the Armenian side is willing to begin the process of retrieving bodies from the territories between the positions of the sides at the entire length of the frontline, to exchange information on POWs and begin the process of POW exchange in the future.

Artsakh authorities announced Thursday that 1119 soldiers have been killed in combat since Azerbaijan began its attacks on September 27.