Azerbaijan, Greece mull refugee problems
Azerbaijan's refugee and IDP problem was discussed at the meeting of Azerbaijan`s Deputy Prime Minister with a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from Greece.
In his meeting with Marias Epameinondas, Ali Hasanov, who is also and chairman of the State Committee for Affairs of Refugees and IDPs, highlighted the history, reasons, and consequences of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, AzerTag state news agency reported.
He talked about the conditions of refugees and IDPs, noting that due to complicated political processes in the South Caucasus, Azerbaijanis had been subjected to forcible deportation and ethnic cleansing several times throughout history.
Hasanov said Armenia invaded 20 percent of Azerbaijan`s territories, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions, and stressed that as a result of this military aggression, over one million Azerbaijanis had become refugees and IDPs.
Azerbaijan`s cultural and material monuments and infrastructures had been destroyed, he added.
Hasanov said the UN Security Council had adopted four resolutions demanding the return of Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs to their native lands.
He also pointed out that Armenia`s aggression policy has been condemned in the decisions and resolutions of the OSCE, PACE, OIC, and other international organizations, but expressed his regret that those decisions and resolutions still remained unfulfilled.
"Armenia ignores the demands of the international community and continues its illegal activities in the occupied territories. The OSCE Minsk Group has been mediating peace talks for more than 20 years, but there aren't any concrete results," Hasanov underlined.
He also noted that Azerbaijan supports a fair settlement of the conflict.
Hasanov further said the Azerbaijani government had made huge efforts to improve the social conditions of refugees and IDPs.
"The Government has spent $ 5.4 billion to tackle the problems of refugees and IDPs in the past 20 years. Over 180,000 refugees and IDPs have been settled in new areas," he said.