Chairman of the State Commission of Azerbaijan on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing People, head of the State Security Service (SSS), Lieutenant General Madat Guliyev on Tuesday met with Elena Ajmone Sessera, Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Delegation in Azerbaijan, in connection with the return of the body of the killed Azerbaijani soldier.

Madat Guliyev noted that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is closely following the issue related to return of the body of Azerbaijani soldier Chingiz Gurbanov, who was killed in an armed clash at the Azerbaijan-Armenia border and has given all necessary instructions in this regard, the State Commission told APA.

He said the State Commission welcomes the efforts of the ICRC and OSCE Minsk Group regarding the return of the Azerbaijani soldier’s body.

Guliyev noted that Armenia’s refusal to return the body of the killed Azerbaijani soldier, despite quite clear mechanism and procedures on handover of bodies, is a flagrant violation of the norms of international humanitarian law, human rights and the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, to which Armenia has joined as well.

Given the fact that Armenia has also previously allowed such inhuman actions as keeping bodies for a long time, the State Commission urges the relevant international organizations to prevent such cases and demand this country honor the Geneva Conventions, added the SSS head.

Stressing the constructive cooperation between the State Commission and the ICRC, the SSS head expressed hope for further development of this cooperation.

In turn, Ajmone Sessera said that the ICRC delegations in Azerbaijan and Armenia are making joint efforts for the soonest return of Chingiz Gurbanov’s body.

Highlighting the work done jointly by the ICRC Delegation in Azerbaijan and the State Commission’s Working Group in 2016, she gave detailed information about the projects planned for 2017.

In addition, the sides exchanged views on a number of issues of mutual interest.

A reconnaissance group of the Armenian Armed Forces tried to violate the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border on Dec. 29, 2016. The Armenian group found itself in the ambush of the Azerbaijani army while violating the borders and suffered heavy losses. Chingiz Gurbanov, a serviceman of Azerbaijani Armed Forces, went missing during the fight. It was later found out that Armenia kept the soldier’s body.

The Azerbaijani side has officially appealed to the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Azerbaijan, the OSCE Minsk Group, as well as to Andrzej Kasprzyk, personal representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office. Despite this, the Azerbaijani soldier’s body has not been given yet.