Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova had a meeting on 6 October with Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Vladimir Orlić who is in our country on an official visit.

First, there was a ceremony of the Azerbaijani MPs welcoming the Serbian visitor in the chamber of the Milli Majlis. The meeting of the two legislature speakers followed.

Sahiba Gafarova welcomed Vladimir Orlić to the Azerbaijani parliament, said that it was his second visit to our country and a token of the level of the bilateral relations. She also described the second visit of Mr Orlić as a sign that both sides are prepared to promote the growth of their relations in all the areas covered. She also fondly recalled Mr Orlić’s participation of the special National Leader Heydar Aliyev Centenary sitting of the Milli Majlis and her own visit to Belgrade in May this year – and the conversations that had been held during it.

Azerbaijan and Serbia were characterised as friendly states and strategic partners. To quote President Ilham Aliyev, Serbia is one of Azerbaijan’s closest friends in Europe, according to Mrs Gafarova. The presidents of the two countries keep up their friendship, which is very important for the continued advance of our relations. Besides, those relations’ deepening is fostered by reciprocal high-level visits and various meetings.

Both our states are solidary and take a common stance in international organisations, especially as regards issues of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Sahiba Gafarova provided the Serbian colleague with ample information about the current state of affairs in our region. In the three years since Azerbaijan’s victory in the Patriotic War of 2020, Armenia has left no stone unturned and has used, amongst others, military and political provocations, mining and backing of the former separatist regime in the Azerbaijani lands in an attempt to harm Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial wholeness.

It was said also that the presence of 10,000-strong Armenian troops, the existence of the unlawful regime and the incessant armed provocations had forced the Azerbaijani side to resort to local anti-terrorist measures on 19 October – the measures that had solely targeted military units and infrastructure without whatever assaults upon civilian population and civilian facilities. All claims to the contrary are quite unfounded, Sahiba Gafarova emphasised before saying that the measures to quash terror had achieved their goals within less than 24 hours. Consequently, the Armenian troops are being withdrawn from our territories, the unlawful structures of the erstwhile separatist regime are destroyed and Azerbaijan has restored her sovereignty.

The reintegration of the ethnic Armenians of Garabagh has been geared into motion already; the special representative of the Azerbaijani Side has had three meetings with delegates of the Armenian population in a short period. The delegates were presented with practical action plans. The Speaker of the Milli Majlis made the Chairman of the National Assembly aware of the humanitarian aid sent to those people, the local migration and social services extended to them and the already-started relevant registration process. All the rights and security of the people to accept the Azerbaijani citizenship will be provided duly, according to Sahiba Gafarova.

The importance of deepening the economic ties between Azerbaijan and Serbia was underlined as well as the conversation went on. It was mentioned that Serbian companies would want to take part in the restoration continuing in the de-occupied Azerbaijani lands.

It was also said as humanitarian co-operation was talked over that the friendship of the Azerbaijani and Serbian peoples constituted a solid platform upon which to further the inter-state relations. The twinning of Shusha and Novi Pazar in Serbia was praised as well.

The memorandum of understanding signed between the parliaments of Azerbaijan and Serbia during Sahiba Gafarova’s official visit to Belgrade provides for a yet greater expansion of our inter-legislature connexions, it was said at the meeting.

Chairman of the National Assembly of Serbia thanked for the generous hospitality extended to him before saying he was glad to have revisited the friendly Azerbaijan and expressing satisfaction with the close ties between our countries. Mr Orlić proceeded to touch on the serious importance of the two states’ leaders’ friendship for the progress of the two-way relations.

The speaker of the Serbian parliament thanked Azerbaijan for backing the territorial integrity of Serbia, and said that Serbia, too, has supported the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan invariably.

What else Vladimir Orlić said was that he had scrutinised the facts about the current situation in Garabagh. He remarked confidently that Azerbaijan was going to provide the people of Armenian extraction living in Garabagh with excellent conditions and arrangements. The double standards that exist in the world in our time cause false information to be spread, Mr Orlić lamented.

Other matters of shared interest were also discussed as the conversation went on.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis