Mr. Pashinyan, As a citizen, as an Armenian and as a human being, I am dismayed by your remarks last week. When asked about the possible exchange of an Azerbaijani soldier for the Armenian hostages held in Baku, you rejected the idea. Why would you reject it when you are finally given the leverage you need to possibly bring your compatriots home? You claim there is an agreement that soldiers who cross the border should be dealt with separately from the hostage issue. However, this “agreement” concerns soldiers who stray across the border, and, to my knowledge, has been implemented at least once on the Armenian side, in March 2024 , when Armenia returned Ruslan Panahov, and once on the Azerbaijani side, in June 2021 , when Azerbaijan returned Artur Kartanyan. This is different from a case in which an Azerbaijani soldier made his way 20 kilometers into Armenian territory and attacked a mother in her home in the presence of her three children. While you said Azerbaijan had not asked for extradition, you raised the possibility that this soldier could eventually be returned to Azerbaijan and said he would be put on trial there. Given the sham trials we have witnessed our compatriots endure in Baku, what gives you the confidence that this soldier will be justly tried and convicted if returned? In fact, what gives you the confidence that he will not be celebrated, as has happened in past cases involving violence against Armenians? My question is simple. Why would you not at least try to negotiate the release of some of our hostages in the exchange for this Azerbaijani soldier? I don’t claim to know what the results of these negotiations may be. I don’t claim to know whether your attempts would be successful. But wouldn’t a strong leader at least try to bring the Armenian hostages home? At a minimum, your attempted negotiations would let Azerbaijan know this is a priority for you. It would let the Armenian people know this is a priority for you. It would let the hostages know this is a priority for you. Because currently, your actions and your rhetoric suggest otherwise. You stated, “If tomorrow one of our soldiers crosses over, who will we give then?” Is that any excuse not to help the 19 hostages held in Baku? They are former political leaders, military personnel and civilians. They are husbands, fathers, brothers and sons. They are human beings. Some of them have been imprisoned for nearly six years now. You would leave these men — including innocent civilians who have been separated from their families — in conditions where there are reports of deteriorating health and mistreatement, with international monitoring now significantly more limited, without so much as considering the leverage you’ve been handed? Without so much as trying to bring them home? You would defend an Azerbaijani soldier who entered some 20 kilometers into Armenia, attacked a mother in front of her children and caused injuries that resulted in the loss of three of her fingers — you would defend him and suggest he may simply have been lost? But you won’t consider using him to negotiate the release of the hostages? Imagine yourself in the position of those hostages. Imagine the torment they’ve been through and what each of their families and loved ones has endured. Imagine you were in their position and the prime minister did not use an available opportunity to advocate for you and try to bring you home. You should be doing everything in your power to bring them home. Yet you are not. That not only hurts those individuals and their families, but it leaves us, as a country, in a weakened position when given the opportunity to even the playing field, even just a bit. I implore you, Mr. Pashinyan. Don’t let this opportunity go to waste. The post An open letter to Prime Minister Pashinyan appeared first on The Armenian Weekly .