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The number of compatriots who returned to Russia from foreign countries with the help of the voluntary resettlement assistance program exceeded 25,000 people last year, TASS reports.
According to Alexander Nurizade, who heads the Department for Work with Compatriots Abroad of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, this area of work remains one of the most important in the department.
He recalled that the program began operating in 2006. Unfortunately, the number of those who joined it in 2020 turned out to be less than a year earlier, when almost 60,000 people became its participants.
Such figures, the diplomat explained, are associated with restrictions aimed at countering the spread of coronavirus infection.
Alexander Nurizadeh explained that consular reception was reduced in many countries. Due to the interruption of international flights, many of the program participants were unable to move to Russia. In this case, they were offered to fly on the export flights, which were organized for the Russians.
The representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed confidence that when the pandemic is over, it will be possible to return to the pre-pandemic indicators of the implementation of the state program.
Russkiy Mir
