The Milli Majlis Working Group for the Azerbaijan-USA interparliamentary contacts and the US Congress Working Group for Azerbaijan that consists of almost forty Congressmen right now, incidentally, held a joint videoconference on 25 February.

The interparliamentary co-operation between Azerbaijan and the USA, the new situation established in our region in the wake of the war and the armistice and the accompanying regional co-operation options, the rebuilding work that Azerbaijan is doing and how the USA can potentially aid it were the subjects discussed at the meeting. Besides, it was mentioned that the Khojali Genocide had turned 29 years, in which connection with US colleagues sent their condolences to Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani side was represented by Leader of the above-said Milli Majlis Working Group MP Samad Seyidov, the Group members MPs Sevinj Fataliyeva, Asim Mollazade, Tural Ganjaliyev, Sevil Mikayilova and Malahat Ibrahimghizi together with their respective aides, Ambassador of the Azerbaijan Republic to the USA Elin Suleymanov and embassial staff members. As for the US party, those were the House of Representatives’ members and co-chairmen of the Working Group for Azerbaijan Steve Chabot (the Republican Congressman for Ohio), Henry Cuellar (the Democratic Congressman for Texas) and Robert Aderholt (a Republican, Alabama) with their respective assistants on foreign politics, and the foreign politics assistant to Steve Cohen (a Democrat, Tennessee) who is another co-chairman of the Group.

Samad Seyidov, the Azerbaijani MPs and Elin Suleymanov emphasised in their presentations that this meeting of the two working group mattered much in terms of furthering the interparliamentary relations; they thanked the Congressmen for the support they are giving to our country.

The speakers commemorated the Khojali Genocide the 29^th anniversary of which is due on 26 February and stressed that peace, stability and security had to be maintained in the region so that wartime mass killings would be avoided in the future.

The meeting participants recalled the backing from various US state departments and the Congress that the South Gas Corridor project enjoyed whilst being implemented.

The US Congressmen were told how Armenia was aiming its attacks on peaceful people, about the resulting loss of life and about the civilian community bombardments during this past war. They were also made aware of the reforms afoot in Azerbaijan, the plans to arrange coexistence with the Armenian citizens of our country and the work focusing on political, humanitarian and economic reintegration. It is important that the USA should support the current and in-design rearrangements in the de-occupied territories of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani side stressed.

Then, the Congressmen Steve Chabot, Robert Aderholt and Henry Cuellar thanked the colleagues for the information about the consequences of the war, expressed their satisfaction with the ceasefire and said they were certain that Armenia and Azerbaijan would be able to overcome all their problems through a combined effort. They underlined the significance of the co-operation projects current in the region and the strategic role of the South Gas Corridor. Besides, they, again, expressed their condolences on the Khojali Tragedy whilst also stressing the need to remember it. The Congressmen remarked that they were happy with their visit to our country and that options to involve American companies in the renovation and rebuilding work done and to be done in Azerbaijan in the new post-reality should be looked into.

The necessity of strengthening the contacts between the USA and Azerbaijan further was underlined during the meeting as well.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis