US urges release of Armenian troops Baku says are infiltrators

The US on Thursday called on Azerbaijan to release Armenian soldiers arrested as they entered the country to allegedly mine routes to military positions.

In a statement, State Department spokesman Ned Price voiced that the US is concerned about the detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces and urged both sides to urgently and peacefully resolve the incident.

"We also continue to call on Azerbaijan to release immediately all prisoners of war and other detainees, and we remind Azerbaijan of its obligations under international humanitarian law to treat all detainees humanely," he said.

Earlier, Azerbaijan said a "reconnaissance and sabotage group" of Armenian forces, consisting of two groups, "infiltrated" the territory of Azerbaijan.

According to the Defense Ministry, six "enemy servicemen who tried to mine the supply routes leading to the positions of the Azerbaijan Army" on the border were surrounded, neutralized and taken prisoners.

Price said the US considers any movements along the non-demarcated areas of the international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan provocative and unnecessary.

"We reject the use of force to demarcate the border and call on both sides to return to their previous positions and to cease military fortification of the non-demarcated border and the emplacement of landmines.

"Specifically, we call on Azerbaijan to relocate its forces to the positions they held on May 11. We also call on Armenia to relocate its forces to the positions they held on May 11, and welcome statements of intent to this effect," Price added.