The office of the head of the European Commission responded to the letter from Azerbaijani NGOs

On May 1, 2026, Azerbaijani non-governmental organizations (NGOs) sent an open letter to European leaders traveling to Armenia — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa, heads of state and government participating in the 8th European Political Community Summit and the EU-Armenia Summit.

As reported by APA, the letter noted that since last year's Washington Summit, the South Caucasus has been undergoing a large-scale transformation, with Azerbaijan and Armenia moving toward sustainable peace.

The authors of the appeal called on European leaders to pay attention to the humanitarian issues facing Azerbaijan, including the question of missing persons and mine hazards.

"Since the first Karabakh war, approximately 4,000 Azerbaijani citizens have been considered missing, including 71 children, 287 women, and 319 elderly individuals. There is every reason to believe that these people were subjected to torture and killed, which may qualify as war crimes. For over 30 years, Armenia has not provided information about their fate or the locations of mass graves. The suffering and pain of the families of these 4,000 missing persons is a humanitarian tragedy that has not received due attention from the international community," the letter stated.

It was also emphasized that since the liberation of Azerbaijani territories from occupation in 2020, 32 mass graves have been discovered. The authors of the letter recalled that thanks to the recovered remains, the identities of 91 individuals were established and they were given proper burials. The burial of these individuals' remains provided their families with long-awaited solace.

"Some Armenian field commanders have stated that they possess information about the locations of mass graves of Azerbaijanis who perished during the first Karabakh war. We urge you and all participants to pressure Armenia so that these individuals are interrogated and the information about mass grave locations is handed over to Azerbaijan," the letter stated.

Furthermore, the letter highlighted the issue of mine contamination on the liberated territories of Azerbaijan. "Armenia's refusal to provide complete and accurate mine field maps has led to the death and injury of more than 400 people since the end of the second Karabakh war in 2020.

"This 'underground war' slows down reconstruction efforts in Azerbaijan's Karabakh and East Zangezur regions and impedes the safe and dignified return of hundreds of thousands of former internally displaced persons to their homes," the letter stated.

The open letter, which called on European leaders to urge Armenia to disclose information about missing Azerbaijanis and provide accurate mine field maps for the liberated territories of Azerbaijan, also emphasized that resolving these issues could serve as a practical step by Armenia toward building trust between the parties.

On June 10, 2026, the office of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sent a response to Ramil Iskenderli, Chairman of the Board of the National Forum of NGOs of Azerbaijan.

"We have carefully reviewed your appeal and forwarded it to the European External Action Service (EEAS — ed.). They will examine the issues you raised and will respond in the near future," the reply stated.

It should be noted that the European Council had also previously sent a response letter, stating that the appeal had been forwarded to the office of its President António Costa.