EDITOR's NOTE: Details have been added after the third paragraph
Azerbaijan, Baku, April 7 / Trend K. Zarbaliyeva /
The Armenian side handed over Azerbaijan prisoner of war today.
Rafiq Hasanov was handed over in the Sadarak region of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic at 12:00 a.m., the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing People of Azerbaijan spokesman Shahin Sailov told Trend.
Rafiq Hasanov was detained in October 2008 in the direction of the village Kemerli of Azerbaijani Gazakh region.
Before handing over, Hasanov told representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross that he returns on his own free will, the ICRC's Baku office said.
Rafiq Hasanov was handed over under the ICRC assistance.
Besides Rafiq Hasanov, the Armenian side detains soldier Anar Hajiyev, taken prisoner in May 2009 in the direction of Fizuli region of Azerbaijan. The Armenian side holds another hostage - Eldar Tagiyev. He was detained in the Tovuz region of Azerbaijan in December 2009.
The Azerbaijani side got bodies of Azerbaijani citizens killed by Armenian armed forces on Saturday, April 3, at 12:00 a.m. in the Sadarak region of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.
The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.