Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova has addressed a letter to Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin about the biased statements that Deputy Chairman of the Information Policy, Information Technology and Communication Committee of the State Duma Oleg Matveychev had made on the air of the Russo-Armenian news agency Rusarminfo.

The letter of Mrs Gafarova stresses the great concern in Azerbaijan over the recent statements made by Mr Matveychev to Rusarminfo, especially given the dynamic development of co-operation between our states and parliaments as well as the active mediation efforts of the Russian Federation to normalise Azerbaijani-Armenian relations.

Oleg Matveychev's accusations against Azerbaijan and Turkiye, and his allegations of ‘Azerbaijan provoking the conflict’ are deeply regrettable and totally unacceptable. It is particularly deplorable that such an ‘opinion’ should be expressed by the Deputy Chairman of the committee responsible for information policy in the State Duma.

An official involved in information-related activities, Mr Matveychev could have had a clearer vision of the regional situation and should have comprehended that such statements as those he chose to make cast a shadow on Russian Federation’s mediation, it is emphasised in the letter of Mr Gafarova.

Besides, the letter refers to Mrs Gafarova’s latest meetings with Mr Volodin at which they discussed the state of affairs in the region in detail and exchanged views upon Azerbaijan’s efforts to establish lasting peace, stability and security in the region and about gross violations of the paragraphs of the 10 November 2020 Trilateral Statement by Armenia.

Being an MP for the ruling United Russia Party in the State Duma, Mr Matveychev ought to adhere to the official stance of Russian Federation, which consists in deepening relatiopns with the Republic of Azerbaijan on the basis of allied interaction and respect for each other’s independence, state sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Sahiba Gafarova emphasises the necessity of an assessment of the said commentary by the State Duma member, and expresses a hope that together we shall continue to discourage actions that are contrary to the spirit of the relations between our countries and parliaments.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis