Azerbaijan's mission in Turkey aids expats amid virus

From the first hours of the border closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, Azerbaijan has taken "all possible measures" to help its citizens in Turkey, including those who wanted to return, the country's envoy to Ankara told Anadolu Agency.

Azerbaijanis who were in Turkey on a temporary basis and now cannot go back as well as students in need can apply for assistance through the embassy's website, and qualified applicants are provided with food and lodging, said Khazar Ibrahim, Azerbaijan's ambassador to Turkey.

"So far, more than 15,000 [instances of] assistance of this kind have been rendered, and we are continuing to work around the clock to meet the needs of these categories of our citizens," he said.

Ibrahim said that over 2,700 Azerbaijani citizens flew back home on charter flights provided by his country, adding several thousand people had crossed the land border with Turkey via Azerbaijan's autonomous Nakhchivan region.

"Right now, there are several hundred requests left, and given the availability of quarantine space in Azerbaijan, further flights are being considered by our government," he said.

The envoy said the embassy provides "classic and unconventional" legal and other consular services to its citizens to help them in these difficult times.

"The leadership of Azerbaijan is fully committed to helping its citizens here and we, as the embassy, are following these policies and guidelines. I should also underline the role of the Ministry of Education and SOCAR Turkey in these efforts," he added, referring to the Turkish subsidiary of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic.

SOCAR Turkey has $19.5 billion worth of foreign direct investment in Turkey, while it supports the human resources of the...