“The issue of missing persons is one of the most topical problems facing Azerbaijan, and the theme of the conference is of special relevance for our country. During the first Karabakh war, a total of 3,890 of our fellow citizens went missing as a result of Armenian occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan. There is irrefutable evidence that 872 of the total number of missing persons were taken as prisoners of war or remained in the previously occupied territories,” President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in his letter to the participants of the international conference on “Increasing national and global efforts to clarify the fate of missing persons”.

“According to reliable information, the missing persons were tortured, murdered by Armenia and buried in mass graves in the previously occupied territories of Azerbaijan. The issue of clarifying the fate of missing persons has always been in the spotlight for the state of Azerbaijan. In 1993, the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Missing Persons and Hostages was established and has been operating effectively over the years,” the letter underlined.