Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova met with a delegation led by President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Pia Kauma on 13 November.

There was an exchange of opinions about the current situation in the region of the South Caucasus at the meeting, with Speaker Sahiba Gafarova talking about the 30-year-long Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani lands and its consequences as well as the ethnic cleansing policy pursued by Armenia. It was our country specifically which, having freed her own lands of Armenian occupation in the Patriotic War of 2020, came up with a peace agenda based on 5 international law principles including mutual respect for territorial integrity and national borders recognised as such internationally, Mrs Gafarova pointed out. She then said with regret that Armenia had not manifested the political will required to achieve peace. For instance, Armenia had failed to honour its obligations under the 10 November 2020 Statement; quite on the contrary, Armenia had continued its military and political provocations against Azerbaijan.

The Chair of the Milli Majlis then told about the anti-terrorist measures of the Azerbaijani Army in September this year. She remarked that those had been undertaken in accordance with the international law standards, without any damage done to civil infrastructure and without also a single case of violence against civil population.

Sahiba Gafarova spoke of the Azerbaijani side’s action to reintegrate the ethnic Armenians living in Garabagh, and did not omit to mention Armenia’s reluctance to honour Azerbaijani’s right to return to that country.

Broaching the mine-related provocations of the Armenian side, Madam Speaker told the guests that the more than 1 million mines Armenia had planted in those lands seriously impeded the large-scale work under way to restore and rearrange the said areas.

Further, the Chair of the Milli Majlis strongly criticised the double standards manifest in regard to our state. Those standards which were evident during the almost 30 years of Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani lands and since Azerbaijan liberated her territories are utterly unacceptable, Mrs Gafarova emphasised.

Azerbaijan is the main party interested in a safe and stable future for the South Caucasus, and remains committed to the regional peace agenda whereas Armenia, unfortunately, not only makes efforts towards peace but also tries to confuse international community with its false and groundless accusations, according to the Speaker of the Milli Majlis.

Armenia continues seizing every opportunity and platform for its blackwashing campaign levelled at Azerbaijan, and some international organisations support the Armenian fictions, Sahiba Gafarova continued with regret. She stressed that the allegations of the Armenian side of an ‘ethnic cleansing’ carried out by Azerbaijan were unfounded and false. It is paramount to discourage any attempt to distort the real situation and continuing hatred and animosity; lopsided moves and declarations liable to aggravate the situation must necessarily be avoided. In this sense, said the Chair of the Milli Majlis, it is necessary to make certain that OSCE PA moves do not propagate the false Armenian propaganda against Azerbaijan.

Thoughts were then voiced about a possible role the OSCE PA could play in building trust between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Also, the meeting participants talked over issues related to the co-operation between the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis