President of Armenian NOC appeals to head of IOC and international partners to take steps to release Armenian prisoners of war

ArmInfo. The President of the National Olympic Committee of Armenia Gagik Tsarukyan has appealed to the head of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach and international Olympic movement partners to take steps to release the Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan.

"Paris 2024 Olympics is held  at a turbulent and tense time for the world, in a difficult period of large-scale military confrontations and bloodshed of civilians around the world. We, the representatives of the International Olympic Movement, in addition to our sporting responsibilities, have the most important mission - to help reduce tension in hot spots around the world and establish peace. Awareness of our duty as our common mission has many times helped to establish peace or at least a temporary ceasefire in many tense spots, laying the foundation for long-term peace processes and saving many thousands of lives. My country, Armenia, has experienced bloody, unjust and difficult wars in recent years.

Today, at a time of cessation of hostilities and peace talks, many citizens of Armenia, including state and public figures, are still being held captive in Azerbaijan, effectively being hostages. As the President of the National Olympic Committee of Armenia, I appeal to my international partners and all supporters of the International Olympic Movement. I urge you, during the Olympic Games in Paris, to use all your political and diplomatic options, your unconditional authority to release the citizens of Armenia unjustly held in Baku prisons. The release of the forcibly detained citizens of Armenia will serve as a basis for strengthening trust in our region with the ultimate goal of establishing a lasting and just peace," Tsarukyan noted.

He also added that the Olympic movement is the embodiment of the highest ideas of peace and humanism through sport. "This is a worldwide movement for justice and peaceful coexistence between nations, and with this step we can add this common victory of our movement to the precious treasury of lives and destinies of people saved thanks to the previous several dozen Olympic Games," the appeal reads.