Moscow, Nov. 17, (dpa/GNA) – Azerbaijan and Armenia have exchanged 200 bodies of those killed in fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, Russian state media reported on Tuesday, citing the Red Cross.
The bodies were exchanged in the presence of Russian peacekeeping troops, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, was quoted as saying.
A Red Cross spokesperson dealing with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict did not confirm the number of bodies that were exchanged, but said that the process began last week.
More than 1,000 people have been reported killed in the six-week flare-up between Azerbaijan and neighbouring Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The region, largely controlled by Christian Armenian troops for a quarter of a century, is considered by the United Nations as part of predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan made significant territorial gains in its military offensive into the region, which began in late September.
Armenia agreed to cede several parts of the region to Azerbaijan as part of a peace deal agreed last week between those two sides and regional power Russia.
Azerbaijani President, Ilham Aliyev and his wife, first Vice President, Mehriban Aliyeva, took a trip around parts of the region on Monday, Azerbaijani state media reported.
With Aliyev smiling cheerfully, the couple posed for photos in the region’s Jabrayil district, according to a post on Aliyeva’s Twitter account.
“Behind you see the centre of Jabrayil. The enemy destroyed the entire infrastructure. They will answer for this in international courts,” Aliyev said in a video posted by state media.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – a close ally of Azerbaijian – sent a motion on Monday to the Turkish parliament to deploy soldiers to Azerbaijan to monitor the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, according to Turkish State News Agency, Anadolu.
GNA