How Fair Is "All for All" Principle?

In recent weeks, the exchange of prisoners of war and hostages has been discussed at various levels in Azerbaijan and Armenia. On Friday, the issue was discussed by the leaders of the two countries - Aliyev and Pashinyan in St. Petersburg.

The attempt to exchange on the principle of "all to all" does not find understanding among the Armenian side.

Officially, there are three prisoners in Azerbaijan - two from Armenia and one from Karabakh. Armenians also have three Azerbaijanis and all three are kept in Karabakh.

The Armenian side refuses to extradite Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev, two residents of the Kelbajar district convicted by the Armenian side on charges of killing two people. Calling them murderers and saboteurs, the Armenian side does not consider it possible to exchange them for their citizens, but is ready to exchange the third prisoner, Elnur Huseynzadeh, "who has not committed serious

At the same time, the Armenian side insists that two of the Armenians held in captivity in Azerbaijan are mentally ill people who have accidentally crossed the border, and one is a former military man who has violated discipline.

To the calls of Baku to exchange three for three representatives of Armenia and Karabakh say this is impossible, because Asgarov and Guliyev are not prisoners, but murderers. If they are extradited, Baku will "glorify them", as was already the case with Ramil Safarov.

Arguments about justice in conflict situations are rather blurred, and each side interprets them in its own way. Disputes in this case look more like political bargaining.

The position of the Armenian side could be understood if the imprisonment of Asgarov and Guliyev could resolve some key issue for Armenians. In this case, it could not.

But here is a historical analogy of the current situation, and then the arising questions were solved by Heydar Aliyev.

Today, few people remember that in May 1996, on the initiative of then-Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov, Baku and Yerevan exchanged prisoners on the principle of "all for all", although the public of Azerbaijan was unhappy with that.

The reason was that among the 39 Armenians extradited, four were convicted of terrorism - the killing of civilians and the undermining of the Baku metro. In these two attacks, tens of people were killed and dozens were injured. And if we proceed from the current logic of the Armenian side, Baku should have kept these people imprisoned or shot to this day.

The author of these lines was among the journalists covering the meeting between Aliyev and Primakov in Baku on May 8. Then the President of Azerbaijan said: "The State Commission for the Affairs of Prisoners of War and Hostages of Azerbaijan has done a great job and identified 39 people. These are prisoners of war, hostages and convicts of Armenian nationality, and we are ready to give them to you for transfer to the Armenian side.

However, keep in mind that one of them is a terrorist involved in one of the explosions in the Baku metro, and three more killed the Azerbaijani journalist woman and three Russian soldiers in Nagorno-Karabakh. All these people are sentenced to death.

It was not an easy decision, but we did it, despite the feelings of the relatives of those who died in these terrorist attacks."

Yevgeny Primakov called the decision of the Azerbaijani side "a great humanitarian step that can be used as the basis for a general settlement of the conflict." He promised that the day after tomorrow he would return to Baku with Azerbaijani prisoners of war and hostages, whom he would take from the Armenian side.

A day later, 110 Armenians and Azerbaijanis were released.

The late Vafa Guluzadeh, who was the state foreign policy adviser at the time, told the author of these lines interesting details of the exchange.

Having received the order of Heydar Aliyev to collect data and discuss the issue of the captured Armenians with the power ministers, Guluzadeh handed them the order of the President, and began to prepare for the arrival of Primakov.

But the day before the meeting, he had an unpleasant conversation with the chief of one of the security forces. In a telephone conversation, he categorically refused to give away the person involved in the blasting of the Baku Metro. "He should be shot, not exchanged," the Minister said emotionally.

To this, I replied - what would you order to report to the President - do you refuse to carry out his order or will you shoot?"

After much wrangling, the question was settled and the most massive exchange of prisoners took place.

As it became known some time later, the father of one of the victims of a terrorist, extradited to Armenia, died of a heart attack, having learned that the criminal was liberated, and he would not bear the deserved punishment ...