Azerbaijan, Barda / Тrend corr Sh. Jaliloghlu / Within the last 13 years the United States has offered $325mln humanitarian assistance to improve living conditions of Azerbaijan's internally displaced persons, the US Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Anne Derse, who is visiting Aghjabadi region, reported on 30 August.
Over 35,000 internally displaced persons were sheltered in the Aghjabadi region.
Meeting with the head of Aghjabadi Region Executive Power, Shahin Mammadov, Derse noted that the displaced persons should return to their land. "The state of these people is difficult and it arouses deep regret," she said.
The conflict between the two countries of South Caucasus began in 1988 due to territorial claims by Armenia against Azerbaijan. Armenia has occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani land including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding Districts. Since 1992, these territories have been under the occupation of the Armenian Forces. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France and USA) are currently holding peaceful negotiations.