Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova has had a meeting with the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavský as part of her official visit to the Czech Republic.

Jan Lipavský said that the relations between our two countries were at a high level and that there were no pending issues between us. He also spoke about strengthening the economic and trade co-operation and referred to Azerbaijan's important role in supplying energy to his country. It was emphasised that Azerbaijani oil constituted a significant part of the total volumes consumed by the Czech Republic. The Foreign Minister expressed his intention to expand co-operation in this field further.

Then, Jan Lipavský expressed the interest of Czechia in continuing the development of our co-operation in international organisations.

The Speaker of the Milli Majlis, in turn, said it was necessary to keep up high-level trips and contacts between Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic.

Taking into account Azerbaijan's favourable investment climate and, moreover, the large-scale reconstruction under way in the territories liberated from occupation, the modern transport infrastructure and Azerbaijan's serious role as a transit country, and the work done in the field of renewable energy, our countries have vast opportunities for further development of bilateral economic co-operation. Having said this, Sahiba Gafarova mentioned the equally significant opportunities for the development of this co-operation, including in the field of renewable energy sources.

The Speaker of the Milli Majlis criticised the double standards existing in the system of international relations. We sometimes witness a disregard for international law whereas decisions made concerning certain states are carried out immediately. Mrs Gafarova recalled that Azerbaijan had suffered Armenian occupation for almost 30 years. That occupation had expulsed a million Azerbaijanis from their motherland. Armenia had destroyed and pillaged all the towns and provinces it had occupied. Virtually all the international organisations with the UN Security Council at the helm, were issuing various decisions and resolutions about liquidation of the very fact of occupation but all those documents had remained on paper for close to three decades. Until, that is, Azerbaijan enforced them and liberated her lands from the occupation by her own efforts three years ago.

Having said that Azerbaijan was currently busy with the large-scale restoration and reclamation of the de-occupied territories, Mrs Gafarova stressed that our country was set on a peace political course. Azerbaijan wishes to ensure lasting peace in the region. Therefore, though her territories had been occupied, it was Azerbaijan that presented Armenia with her proposals of normalising the relations and inking a peace treaty. The utterly inadequate, unacceptable declarations that distort the regional realities cast aspersions on the efforts made to sign the peace treaty and undermine them, according to Mrs Gafarova. She also emphasised the need for signing a peace treaty and fair mediation in the process of normalising the relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed the Czech side’s interest in the maintenance of stability in the region and said that the Czech Republic was behind the peace process. Besides, Czechia praises the steps that Azerbaijan is taking to that end, according to Mr Lipavský.

The meeting went on, and other matters of shared interest were talked over as it did.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis