Azerbaijan has freed four Armenian detainees held since the 2020 and 2023 conflicts, Armenia said Wednesday, marking another step toward easing tensions between the long-time foes.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote on the Telegram messaging app that all four men were in satisfactory health and were headed for the capital, Yerevan, after being released by Azerbaijani authorities at the Khakari Bridge.
The four had been serving prison terms ranging from 15 to 20 years for crimes including genocide, espionage and weapons smuggling.
Three of the men had been detained in the aftermath of a 44-day war in 2020, in which Azerbaijan was victorious. The fourth man, Vagif Khachaturyan, was arrested in July 2023.
Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military illegally occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions. Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a 44-day war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement that opened the door to normalization and demarcation talks. In September 2023, Azerbaijan established full sovereignty in Karabakh after separatist forces in the region surrendered.
Azerbaijan is still seeking sentences of up to life for 15 ethnic Armenian ex-leaders and officials from Karabakh, who were charged with war crimes, terrorism and forcible seizure of power in the aftermath of Baku's 2023 victory. Another former Karabakh official, Ruben Vardanyan, is being tried separately and faces 42 charges, including terrorism. Authorities are seeking a life sentence.
Separately, Armenia's justice ministry said on Wednesday it had released two Syrian citizens, Yousef Alaabet al-Hajji and Muhrab Muhammad al-Shkhari, who it said had been serving life sentences. It did not say why they had been jailed.
The men were released back to Syria via Türkiye, the ministry said, without providing further details.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
