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Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the State Committee for Affairs of Refugees and IDPs, chairman of Republican Commission on International Humanitarian Aid Ali Hasanov has met a Turkish delegation comprised of parliamentarians and members of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce.
Hasanov said Azerbaijan-Turkey relations have historical roots, adding these ties are based on friendship and fraternity.
The Deputy Prime Minister spoke of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and its grave consequences for Azerbaijan.
Hasanov said that “as a result of military aggression of the Armenian armed forces against Azerbaijan, 20 percent of its lands – Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjoining administrative regions were occupied, more than one million Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced persons, national and cultural resources were plundered, all infrastructure was destroyed.”
“The aggressive policy of Armenia was condemned in the decisions and resolutions of the OSCE, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other influential international organizations. Unfortunately, these decisions and resolutions still remain on paper. Armenia, ignoring the demands of the international community, continues its illegal activity in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Brokered by the OSCE Minsk Group for more than 20 years, the process of negotiations has not yet yielded any results.”
The Deputy Prime Minister stated that the Azerbaijani government does great work in the legal as well as socio-economic fields in order to meet the needs of refugees and internally displaced persons. “The government of Azerbaijan has expended 5.4 billion US dollars in order to solve the social problems of the refugees and internally displaced persons in the last 20 years. Some 180,000 refugees and internally displaced people have been moved to new settlements at the expense of the funds allocated from the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the process in underway.”
He said that in 2003 the poverty rate was 49 percent and 75 percent among refugees and internally displaced persons. “However, as a result of the measures taken by the government poverty rate has been reduced to 5 percent in the country and to 15 percent among refugees and internally displaced persons.”
The Chairman of the State Committee said Turkey`s relevant humanitarian organizations were first to render assistance to victims of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Head of the Turkish delegation, member of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce Ozturk Oran described the Khojaly genocide as a crime against humanity. He stressed that those responsible for this crime must be punished in accordance with international law.
Oran hailed efforts of the Azerbaijani government to tackle problems of refugees and IDPs. He said Armenians should not forget that territories of present Armenia are ancient Azerbaijani lands.
Oran also highlighted activities of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, saying it is one of the oldest non-governmental organizations in the world.
Turkish MP from ruling Justice and Development Party Seyit Ercelik and other speakers condemned Armenia`s aggression against Azerbaijan, and stressed the importance of raising awareness of the international community on Azerbaijan`s realities.
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