The Ministers of Justice of Armenia and Japan met. The issues related to the return of Armenian prisoners of war were referred

On March 8, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia Rustam Badasyan met Minister of Justice of Japan Yoko Kamikawa. As a reminder, Rustam Badasyan is participating in the 14th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (UNODC) from March 5 to 11 in Kyoto, Japan. Minister Badasyan thanked the Japanese colleague for the invitation to participate in the Congress, for the warm hospitality, noting that Armenia and Japan have a lot in common - ancient civilization, rich culture and innovative spirit. Rustam Badasyan highly appreciated Japan's position in the UN Human Rights Council on the return of Armenian prisoners of war, as well as the $ 3.6 million humanitarian aid provided by the Japanese government to Armenia to neutralise the effects of the Artsakh war. The Minister of Justice of Armenia, referring to the large-scale military aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh under the auspices of Turkey in September 2020, noted that during those 44 days the Armenian people witnessed gross violations of international conventions. "Currently, the issue that worries us all is the return of Armenian prisoners of war. Azerbaijan refuses to extradite them despite the ceasefire agreement. This is a gross violation by Azerbaijan of the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War," Rustam Badasyan declared. Minister Kamikawa, in her turn, thanked the Congress for the participation of the delegation led by Minister Badasyan. Kamikawa attached importance to the effective bilateral cooperation and expressed readiness to continue it. She voiced a hope that the Kyoto Declaration, approved by the Congress, will serve as a benchmark for states to consolidate the rule of law and assured that Japan, as the country holding the presidency of the Congress, will further promote the establishment of the rule of law.

Afterwards, the ministers exchanged views, emphasising that high-level mutual contacts are good basis for enhancing bilateral cooperation.