Azerbaijani foreign minister, new UNHCR representative discuss IDPs, cooperation

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Azerbaijan’s foreign minister and the new UNHCR representative in Baku held discussions on the situation of people displaced due to the conflict with Armenia.

Jeyhun Bayramov informed Bik Lum about “the past Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and its consequences, and said more than 1 million Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced persons due to Armenia’s ethnic cleansing policy,” the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Bayramov said restoration and reconstruction were carried out in areas freed from Armenian occupation during the 44-day conflict in the fall of 2020.

He said Azerbaijani IDPs have started returning to villages in the area, while Baku is also determined to reintegrate Armenian residents in the region, according to the statement.

He also raised the issue of Armenia’s “military and political provocations,” while condemning Yerevan’s “unacceptable” attempts to use “international organizations for its own insidious purposes.”

Lum expressed satisfaction over the level of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the UNHCR, and vowed to maintain the positive dynamic, the statement added.​​​​​​​