OREANDA-NEWS  The forcibly displaced Azerbaijanis have already returned to 16 settlements in Nagorno-Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur. This was announced by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, TASS reports.

"The Great Return program is being implemented. To date, we have ensured the return of former internally displaced persons to 16 towns and villages," he said.

The politician stressed that currently over 50,000 people live, work and receive education in these territories. In addition, he stressed the importance of ensuring the rights of Azerbaijanis who were deported from Armenia.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia, Tatyana Moskalkova, sent an appeal on the situation of Russian citizens detained in Azerbaijan to the republic's Ombudsman, Sabina Aliyeva. She noted that excessive physical force was demonstratively used against the Russians.