Germany to start new project on refugees and IDPs in Azerbaijan
By Sara Rajabova
Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Committee on Refugees and IDPs met with German Ambassador to Azerbaijan.
Ali Hasanov and Heidrun Tempel discussed the dire consequences of Armenia's military aggression, the condition of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), the work done to improve their social conditions, and other issues at the December 4 meeting.
They exchanged views on the history and reasons of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and the Azerbaijani government's policy for solving the problem.
The delay in conflict resolution because of Armenia's non-constructive position, the loyal attitude of OSCE Minsk Group and some other international organizations for tackling the problem, and some other issues were also of the agenda.
Hasanov said Azerbaijani government is trying to solve all the problems of refugees and IDPs and is adequately coping with these problems.
However, he said, international and local non-governmental organizations in the country also need to continue their activities in this regard.
Hasanov said about 30 international and 70 local non-governmental organizations, in which the German government also represented, currently operate in the country, adding that the Azerbaijani government has created all the necessary conditions for the activity of such organizations.
Noting that relations between Azerbaijan and Germany were built on a solid foundation, Hasanov expressed confidence that the relations will develop successfully in the future.
He thanked the German government for its assistance in solving the problems of refugees and IDPs through international humanitarian organizations.
In turn, Tempel said the main objective of the meeting, which was also attended by the representative of the German Society for International Cooperation, was to assist Azerbaijan in solving the problem of refugees and IDPs through the very society.
Tempel said they are going to implement a new project in connection with the problems of refugees and IDPs in the near future.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.
As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 are reported missing and almost 100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled.
The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.