ICRC Working to Deliver Aid, Exchange Bodies, Prisoners in Nagorno-Karabakh - President
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is working diligently to ensure aid deliveries to displaced groups and facilitate the exchange of prisoners and the bodies of the deceased in Nagorno-Karabakh following the Russian-brokered ceasefire agreed on November 9, Peter Maurer, the committee's president, told Sputnik in an interview
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th November, 2020) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is working diligently to ensure aid deliveries to displaced groups and facilitate the exchange of prisoners and the bodies of the deceased in Nagorno-Karabakh following the Russian-brokered ceasefire agreed on November 9, Peter Maurer, the committee's president, told Sputnik in an interview.
Maurer said that the ICRC had three main priorities in Nagorno-Karabakh at present, namely "the assistance to the displaced population, the recovery of dead bodies, and the visits to detainees in order to prepare for possible negotiations and exchanges."
All participants in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which flared up in late September, reported casualties throughout the fighting. Maurer said that at least 200 bodies have been exchanged between the conflict's participants to date.
"On the recovery of dead bodies, I am very happy to report that with the presence of the Russian peacekeepers and ICRC, the parties started to recover and to exchange bodies. My latest information is that 200 bodies have already been exchanged. And we will continue that effort," the ICRC president said.
Facilitating the exchange of prisoners is one of the ICRC's core tasks, Maurer stated, adding that the committee will work to ensure that all detainees are kept in conditions that meet international standards.
"We have bigger dimensions of numbers at the present moment and it is an issue where we work with the parties to get full access to ensure that the basic needs of the detainees are serviced, that ICRC has access, that the conditions of detention are according to the international standards. And this should hopefully create an atmosphere in which parties can then negotiate and agree on exchanges," he remarked.
Maurer added that the committee itself does not take part in the negotiation of agreements, although the humanitarian organization remains ready to facilitate any deals.
"ICRC doesn't negotiate the agreements, but we are ready to facilitate the exchanges afterwards," he stated.
The ICRC president is expected to hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow later on Tuesday. The humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is expected to feature prominently on the agenda of discussions.