Armenian Security Service: Azerbaijan did not kidnap teenagers PHOTO

Armenia’s National Security Service has refuted earlier claims that two minors, residents of the Tegh (Digh) community in the Syunik (Zangezur) region, were kidnapped by Azerbaijani forces after they went missing near the border.

In an official statement, the National Security Service clarified that the teenagers, Karen Jangiryan and Andrey Gyagunts, lost their way while searching for their pets and inadvertently crossed into Azerbaijani territory due to heavy fog and poor visibility.

“The information that they were kidnapped by Azerbaijanis does not correspond to reality,” the statement read, Caliber.Az reports.

Earlier, on June 5, Armenia’s Investigative Committee launched a criminal case under the charge of kidnapping. Kima Avdalyan, spokesperson for the Committee’s chairman, stated on June 5 that a case had been initiated “on the signs of kidnapping” after the minors were reported missing near the village of Aravus and believed to have crossed into Azerbaijan.

Following the incident, search and retrieval efforts were promptly launched. On the same day, the head of the Tegh community, David Gulunts, confirmed to local media that both teenagers had been located and safely returned to Armenia.

By Sabina Mammadli