BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 13
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
Today, one of the important issues is the return of Azerbaijani citizens staying abroad to Azerbaijan, Spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva said.
Abdullayeva made the remark at the briefing in the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan, Trend reports on May 13.
“Presently, Azerbaijani citizens from about 60 countries want to come back,” the spokesperson said. “Despite the suspension of international flights, Azerbaijan continues to return its citizens via special charter flights.”
"The citizens staying abroad are being evacuated upon the instructions of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva,” the spokesperson said. “For this purpose, Operational Headquarters has been created under the Foreign Ministry. At the first stage, the ministry receives the operative information from the representatives of the embassies and diplomatic services.”
“So far, about 20,000 Azerbaijani citizens have been returned to Azerbaijan,” the spokesperson said. “The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry receives phone calls from the citizens living abroad and their relatives. From May 1 up till now, the Foreign Ministry received 664 phone calls via hotline and the ministry still receives the phone calls. Both the Foreign Ministry and the diplomatic corps received phone calls. We urge citizens staying abroad to comply with the rules of the quarantine regime in those countries."
“During the evacuation, preference is given to old women, minors and those who have health problems,” the spokesperson said.
"Presently, Azerbaijani citizens from about 60 countries want to return to Azerbaijan,” the spokesperson said. “Along with those in Russia, Turkey and European countries, there is one citizen in China, as well as citizens South African Republic and other distant countries. Their appeals are also in the spotlight. The work is underway."