Azerbaijan`s deputy Prime Minister meets European parliamentarian
March 17 (AZERTAC). Azerbaijan`s deputy Prime Minister, chairman of the State Committee for Affairs of Refugees and IDPs Ali Hasanov has met member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from Greece Marias Epameinondas.
The Deputy Premier highlighted history, reasons and consequences of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He spoke of conditions of refugees and IDPs, noting due to complicated political processes happened 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. He stressed as a result of the military aggression over one million Azerbaijanis had become refugees and IDPs, adding Azerbaijan`s cultural and material monuments, and whole infrastructure had been destroyed.
Hasanov said the UN Security Council had adopted four resolutions demanding the return of Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs to their native lands. The chairman of the State Committee also pointed out that Armenia`s aggression policy had been condemned in decisions and resolutions of the OSCE, PACE, OIC and other international organizations.
He expressed regret over the fact that those decisions and resolutions still remained unfulfilled.
“Armenia ignores demands of the international community and continues its illegal activities in the occupied territories. The OSCE Minsk Group has been mediating peace talks over 20 years but there are no any concrete results,” Hasanov underlined said.
He also noted that Azerbaijan supports fair settlement of the conflict.
Hasanov said the Azerbaijani government had made huge efforts to improve social conditions of refugees and IDPs. “The Government has spent USD 5.4 billion to tackle problems of refugees and IDPs in the last 20 years. Over 180,000 refugees and IDPs have been settled in new areas.”
Greek MP Epameinondas said they were aware of Armenia`s aggression against Azerbaijan and problems of Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs, who had been driven out from their homelands.
Epameinondas expressed regret that Armenia had not carried out resolutions of the UN Security Council, adding he would support Azerbaijan`s fair stance.
The Greek MP said his country had backed Azerbaijan`s fair stance in international organizations in some cases.
He also hailed Azerbaijan`s development in a short period of time since it had gained the independence. The European deputy stressed that his country would further increase its efforts for peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
On Azerbaijan-Greece economic relations, the parliamentarian expressed hope these ties would continue developing.
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