Azerbaijani Defense Ministry: "The Armenian soldiers said the situation in the Armenian army is intolerable"

Armenian soldiers crossed the border into Azerbaijan in Evciduzu in Agdam at noon on Feb. 28. They asked Khojali IDP Zumrud Aliyeva to give them food in Russian.

Aliyeva heard them speaking Armenian and informed a nearby military unit.

The Armenian soldiers were later detained - Grant Markosyan, Artur Varteryan and Alik Tevosyan.

The Armenian soldiers said the situation in the Armenian army is intolerable. The soldiers are not provided with clothing. The army lacks heating, and soldiers catch diseases due to the cold, Sabiroglu said.

"Soldiers said they are not provided with food. There have pneumonia and other serious diseases. The army also has a shortage of medicine. The infectious diseases left many dead. The officers even misappropriate the money sent by parents to buy medicine," Sabiroglu said.

Sabiroglu said the intolerable situation in the Armenian army forces soldiers to either desert the army or become volunteer hostages.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan lost all of Nagorno-Karabakh except for Shusha and Khojali in December 1991. In 1992-93, Armenian armed forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and 7 districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.