Azerbaijan has repatriated 110 citizens stranded in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan due to COVID-19 restrictions, Kavkazskiy Uzel reported on June 26.
All 110 were temporarily living in “Ogonyok” camp located in Kaitag District until their repatriation on June 23, Dagestani Deputy Minister for National Policy and Religious Affairs Garun Davydov said.
They returned through the Dagestani “Yarag-Kazmalyar” international customs checkpoint.
Over 500 Azerbaijanis in Rusia are still waiting to return home, Davydov said.
Local authorities have said that 345 more Azerbaijanis remain in the territory of the “Ogonyok” children’s camp in Dagestan as of June 25.
All the remaining camp tenants will be able to return to Azerbaijan by late June, the Dagestani Ministry for Emergencies has said.
Hundreds of Azerbaijanis were stranded in Russia after the country closed its borders with Russia over COVID-19 on March 18, 2020. Most of them have gathered in southern Dagestan that borders Azerbaijan.
A special corridor has been organized for the repatriation of citizens of both countries who could not return on time due to the closure of borders amid the spread of COVID-19.
Azerbaijan has been repatriating its citizens stranded abroad since 2020.
