Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated in an interview with Public Television that the claim that Armenian authorities are not addressing the issue of Armenian captives held in Baku on fabricated charges is untrue.

As an example, he referred to the return of 32 captives in 2023, which had not been publicly announced beforehand.

"It is not true that we are not discussing the issue of captives. I want to go back to December 2023, when 32 of our captured brothers returned to the Republic of Armenia. Imagine that a day or five hours before their return, I had been forced to respond to a question on this topic—I would have given an answer that would have seemed completely inadequate. In December 2020, during a meeting with the relatives of captives in the hall next to this office, I mentioned a specific date and said certain individuals would return on that date. It did not happen. That was the first and last time I made any promise on this matter, because I realized that when something is outside our control, creating specific expectations is very wrong," the Prime Minister noted.

He emphasized that the issue of captives is "constantly raised" on all negotiation platforms, but it is not solely under Armenia's control. Therefore, any public statements must be made with extreme caution to avoid generating baseless hopes and disappointments.

U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz stated that, during a conversation with Azerbaijani National Security Advisor Hikmet Hajiyev, he urged the release of captives and the completion of a peace agreement with Armenia.

Attorney Jared Genser, representing Ruben Vardanyan, called on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan to closely examine statements by U.S. President Donald Trump and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.