Tuesday, October 27 2026 12:03
Marianna Mkrtchyan

Foreign Minister: The Netherlands will provide financial assistance in the search for persons missing as a result of the Karabakh conflict.

Foreign Minister: The Netherlands will provide financial assistance in the search for persons missing as a result of the Karabakh conflict.

ArmInfo. The Netherlands will provide financial assistance in the search for persons missing as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen announced this on October 27 in Yerevan at a joint press conference with his Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan.

"We also discussed the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Netherlands welcomes the tangible steps taken by the two countries since last year. I would like to once again welcome and express my support for the steps Armenia and Azerbaijan have taken to advance this process," the diplomat said.

In this vein, he emphasized the importance of this process being concluded with the signing of a peace treaty between Yerevan and Baku. He added that the Netherlands fully supports the two countries in this process.

"In this vein, I am announcing new financial assistance from the International Commission for Assistance in the Search and Recovery of Missing Persons," Berendsen said. He described this as a very important program, which the Netherlands wants to support.

In turn, Ararat Mirzoyan drew attention to the sensitivity of the issue of missing persons in both Armenia and Azerbaijan. "This is probably an area where assistance from a third party—the Netherlands—is worthy of welcome by all parties, and I would like to once again thank the Netherlands for this assistance," Mirzoyan said.

At the same time, the Dutch Foreign Minister avoided a direct answer to a question regarding the international community's efforts to free Armenians illegally held in Azerbaijani custody. "I can only say that the conversations I had in Azerbaijan are essentially similar to the conversations here." "The international community and the Netherlands are supporting the ongoing peace process between the two countries," Berendsen said.

According to the latest data from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as of August 2024, approximately 1,000 people are considered missing on the Armenian side, with approximately 300 of these individuals reported missing following the latest escalation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone between autumn 2020 and autumn 2023. All data was collected by the ICRC based on requests from relatives of the missing. The ICRC also reported that among these 300 individuals, there are several dozen requests concerning cases where the family disagreed with the DNA data provided by the state.

It should be noted that the exact number of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages held in Azerbaijani prisons is still unknown. Experts estimate there are several hundred. Today, the Azerbaijani authorities confirm the presence of 19 Armenians. Among those held in Azerbaijani captivity are 8 former and current representatives of the military-political leadership of Artsakh. These are former presidents of Artsakh. Arkady Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, former Foreign Minister Davit Babayan, as well as Parliament Speaker Davit Ishkhanyan, former Commander of the Artsakh Defense Army, General Levon Mnatsakanyan, General David Manukyan, and former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan.

In February, the Baku puppet court sentenced Arayik Harutyunyan, Davit Babayan, Davit Ishkhanyan, Davit Manukyan, and Levon Mnatsakanyan to life imprisonment on trumped-up charges, and Bako Sahakyan, Arkady Ghukasyan, and Ruben Vardanyan to 20 years in prison. The so-called court sentenced the remaining Artsakh residents to up to 15 years in prison.

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