Some of the Armenian residents of Karabakh were born after the conflict and have not interacted with Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Israel Mukhtar Mammadov said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post, according to Report.
"The elders, many of them, speak the Azerbaijani language. But the youngsters were raised under this propaganda that we are evil. A lot has to be done to change it, and this is one of our focuses," the ambassador said.
He also noted that Azerbaijan lost 30,000 people in the 1990s and 3,000 in the recent [2020] war.
"People have pain and sorrow. We understand the value of moving on to the next stage. It won’t be easy, but we have to start," he said.
The ambassador noted that Azerbaijan is not forcing anyone to leave its territory, it declared that anyone who wants to stay is free to do so, and Azerbaijan won’t prosecute.
"At the same time, video footage shows police and military helping injured and older adults. We have nothing against these people; they are leaving due to three decades of propaganda [against Azerbaijan]," he said.
In addition, among those leaving there are many who have nothing to do with Karabakh and who were members of armed groups.