Baku ready to cooperate with Yerevan to establish fate of missing persons: head of Azerbaijan’s State Security Service

Azerbaijan has offered to provide Armenia with DNA samples to identify remains found in territories it occupies that are believed to belong to Armenian servicemen.

Azerbaijani media report that this was stated by Ali Naghiyev, head of Azerbaijan’s State Security Service and chairman of the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons, at the 4th International Conference on Missing Persons.

He said that examinations found no matches between the remains discovered in these territories and the DNA profiles of 50 people of Armenian origin reported missing. Naghiyev clarified that Armenia handed over these DNA profiles in January 2026.

“We are ready to cooperate to establish the fate of the missing persons on both sides. However, accurate and complete information is needed to achieve a result. Armenia must provide all information on the fate of missing Azerbaijanis and the locations of mass and individual burial sites, and create conditions for opening archives and collecting witness testimony,” Naghiyev said.

According to him, this is a matter of legal obligation and humanitarian responsibility. “Such actions would also be practical confirmation of commitment to peace. He stressed that providing information on people’s fates must not depend on political conditions.” Naghiyev also said that since February 2025 the State Commission has maintained direct contact with the corresponding commission of Armenia. Meetings were held and information was exchanged as part of these contacts.