The current official visit of Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova to the Russian Federation has included her meeting with Chair of the Federation Council of the country’s Federal Assembly Valentina Matviyenko.

Valentina Matviyenko welcomed the Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation cordially. She spoke of the relations being on the rise in all the areas covered, of the bilateral agenda being defined by the heads of our states and about also our relations’ advancement with reliance upon good neighbourliness and mutual understanding.

The fruitful efforts of Azerbaijan’s First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva to broaden the ties and her material contribution to this cause were mentioned as well.

Then, Mrs Matviyenko broached the subject of inter-parliamentary connexions, saying that her meetings with the Speaker of the Milli Majlis were becoming a fine tradition. The relations between our legislatures are efficient and go on successfully bilaterally as well as under the roofs of inter-parliamentary organisations. The signing of the memorandum of understanding concerning co-operation between the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, then, will set in motion a new phase in inter-legislature interaction, in the opinion of Mrs Matviyenko.

Co-operation amongst both countries’ regions is prominent in the evolving bilateral relations; more than seventy federal subjects of the RF are engaged in foreign trade operations with Azerbaijan.

Valentina Matviyenko also emphasised the importance of Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia complying with the trilateral agreements.

Thanking for the heartfelt hospitality afforded the visiting Azerbaijani deputation, Sahiba Gafarova remarked this being her second official trip to the Russian Federation in the capacity of Speaker of the Milli Majlis. Both this visit and the memorandum of understanding signed recently are going to contribute to the progress of co-operation in the inter-parliamentary dimension in their own special way, according to Mrs Gafarova who mentioned that 2022 had seen our diplomatic relations turn thirty years old. The Azerbaijani-Russian ties had been developing dynamically all those years. The ground was prepared for the relationship, greatly upheld by the two state leaders, to be promoted to a new stage with the signing of the Allied Interaction Declaration that was signed during the official visit of President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan to the Russian Federation in February last year. Unfurling with the interests of both sides heeded and taken into account duly, our relationship rests on the principles of mutual respect and mutual trust, according to Sahiba Gafarova.

The Chair of the Milli Majlis also touched on the ties between the Azerbaijani and Russian legislative bodies. She underscored their special place in the overall advancement and lauded the work of the friendship groups of the Milli Majlis and the Federal Assembly as well as that of the constant bilateral inter-parliamentary commission. Azerbaijani and Russian MPs act together in many organisations including the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly. The joint efforts of the sides’ parliamentary committees, too, are important in terms of broadening the bonds between the legislatures; there are extensive opportunities to exchange experience and unite forces in that field.

Moving on to the new reality established across our region following Azerbaijan’s victory in the 44-day Patriotic War that had seen the country made her national territory whole again, the head of the Milli Majlis mentioned the full-scale restoration of the freed lands that is pressing forth currently. She spoke of new settlements and villages being laid down in Garabagh and East Zangazur, both declared a green energy zone, and the already-started repatriation of the former internally displaced people.

It was Azerbaijan to bring about a normalisation process with Armenia and it was Azerbaijan’s proposal to sign a peace agreement to be based on the five main principles of international law. Still, Armenia remains subversive to the negotiations and not only has not yet cleared all the Azerbaijani territories, in open defiance of the requirements of the Trilateral Statement, but is also obstructing the reopening of all the economic ties and transport arteries of the region.

Sahiba Gafarova proceeded to give Valentina Matviyenko a detailed account of the state of affairs surrounding the Lachin Road of late. She stressed that Azerbaijan followed the Trilateral Statement most diligently and had fulfilled all of her obligations under it. It follows from Paragraph 6 of the document in question that Azerbaijan assumed the responsibility for security of passenger transportation and cargo haulage along the Road and general traffic on it – in both directions.

It was said, besides, that Armenia had been using and abusing the Lachin Road to carry mines, ammunition and military personnel as well as to haul out of Azerbaijan the natural resources pillaged nowhere else but in Azerbaijan – and this has been going on for longer than two years. The protests against illegal economic activities in the areas of temporary deployment of the Russian peace-keeping contingent within the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan as well as against the exploitation of natural reserves and abuse of the Lachin road are an exercise of the lawful right of Azerbaijani citizens to do so. The protesters’ fair demands must be honoured. The Armenian side’s allegations that the Azerbaijani side is obstructing the Lachin Road, that the Armenians living in the Azerbaijani lands are blockaded and that there is a humanitarian crisis – all those allegations are utterly unfounded. Various transport vehicles including those of the peace-keepers and of the International Committee of the Red Cross as well as Armenian ambulances travel by the Lachin Road every day in sheer refutation of the groundless Armenian claims. In a nutshell, all that goes to show Armenia’s manipulations attempting to mislead the international community.

The Chair of the Milli Majlis also told of the terrorist attack on the embassy of Azerbaijan in Iran that had had one embassy employee killed and two others wounded. Azerbaijan wants this attack to be investigated fairly and the culprits to be punished as they should be, Sahiba Gafarova said insistently.

Other matters attracting both sides’ attention were talked over as well as the conversation continued.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis