The return of four Armenians from Baku and the handover of two Syrian citizens sentenced to life imprisonment in Armenia to Syria are not linked, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, responding to a question on whether there had been a deal.
“We want to further develop relations with the Syrian Arab Republic, and we hope that this decision, which is a friendly move toward Syria, will also help create a more favorable environment around the Armenian community in Syria,” Pashinyan said.
Earlier, Armenia’s Prime Minister announced that on January 14, 2026, the Republic of Azerbaijan transferred Davit Davtyan, Gevorg Sujyan, Vigen Euljekjian and Vagif Khachatryan to the Republic of Armenia.
The prime minister also said that, according to preliminary medical examinations, Gevorg Sujyan, Davit Davtyan and Vigen Euljekjian have no health issues. Vagif Khachatryan’s condition has been preliminarily assessed as satisfactory.
The Ministry of Justice said in a statement that on January 14, 2026, Syrian Arab Republic citizens Yousef Alaabet al-Haji and Muhhrab Muhammad al-Shkheri, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment in Armenia, were transferred via the Republic of Turkey to the competent authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic to continue serving their sentences in their country of citizenship.
Gevorg Sujyan and Davit Davtyan were captured in November 2020 after the end of the 44-day war while attempting to deliver assistance to Karabakh. In Azerbaijan, they were sentenced to 15 years in prison. Lebanese-Armenian Vigen Euljekjian was captured on November 10, 2020, while traveling to Shushi and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. As for Vagif Khachatryan, an elderly man, he was detained in July 2023 near the Hakari bridge while traveling from Karabakh to Armenia for medical treatment under the escort of the International Committee of the Red Cross. In late December 2025, reports said his health had deteriorated in a Baku prison and that he had been transferred to a hospital.
