Armenia hands over captured Azerbaijani soldier
- 5 March, 11:37
Armenia has handed over Azerbaijani solder who accidentally crossed the Armenian border on February 28, the Azerbaijani media reported on Tuesday.
Ruslan Panahov, a soldier of the Azerbaijani Army, returned to the capital Baku after staying in captivity in less than a week. Panahov was taken hostage in Armenia’s border Syunik region last week. The soldier claimed he lost his way due to unfavorable weather condition. Armenia announced its intent to return the soldier to the Azerbaijani side as a “gesture of goodwill” on Monday.
Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) announced on Monday that soldier Ruslan Panahov would be released in line with the agreement between the two countries, stipulating the swift release of soldiers who accidentally crossed either country’s borders. The service said that the soldier accidentally crossed into Armenia after “fleeing and getting lost” following an incident with his fellow soldiers on the Azerbaijani side of the border.
Earlier, Armenia’s Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against Panahov on charges that included murder, sabotage attempt and smuggling arms. The Committee dropped the charges against the Azerbaijani soldier on Monday. Armenia and Azerbaijan have exchanged dozens of hostages since the end of the Second Karabakh war in 2020. In the latest of such prisoner swaps last December, Azerbaijan returned 32 Armenian soldiers in exchange of two of its soldiers.
