The leader of the Azerbaijani delegation Azer Karimli and the delegation members Tural Ganjaliyev, Gudrat Hasanguliyev, Rauf Aliyev, Iltizam Yusifov, Malahat Ibrahimghizi, Hijran Huseynova, Vugar Bayramov and Nurlan Hasanov took part in the remotely-held plenum of the Euronest PA that continued on 20 April.

The minutes of the 8^th session that the Assembly held in Tbilisi on 9-10 December 2019 were approved at the plenum first. Then, the Co-Chairmen made presentations covering the matters discussed by the PA committees during the 9^th session.

The subjects covered included recovery, resilience and democratisation perspectives for a post Covid-19 Eastern Partnership. Suggestions were voiced as the plenum participants were discussing the role of political parties, civil society, fair electoral environment, and free and pluralistic media in strengthening democratic processes. They also analysed the education and economic relations between the member-states of the European Union and the Eastern Partnership. The national delegations’ members exchanged views on the opportunities to strengthen the energy security of Europe, averting threats to energy security within the Eastern Partnership and other items on the agenda. Thoughts and ideas were put forward as regards democratisation processes in the Eastern Partnership countries, the current public and political state of affairs, increasing resilience and improving security and having the European Union become involved closer in the developments taking place in the region.

The Azerbaijani MPs Azer Karimli and Hijran Huseynova reacted to the statements by the Armenian MPs aimed against Azerbaijan. Relying on objective reality and using concrete facts, they gave the Armenian side categorical answers unmasking their false and slanderous claims. The leader of the Azerbaijani delegation Azer Karimli said, ‘The European states and institutions including the OSCE Minsk Group had failed to achieve a peaceful resolution of the thirty-year-long conflict in the region. Now, however, we have ended the opposition and hatred in the region; we have turned a leaf. We are beginning to build the future of the region to benefit all the regional countries including Armenia in that they will be able to make progress. Alas, there are no observable steps to that end on Armenia’s part.’

Hijran Huseynova emphasised the observable persistence of double standards within the Eastern Partnership. The Azerbaijani delegation member argued against the unfounded accusations of the Armenian side; she pointed the decades of the Armenian occupation of her country’s lands, adding that Azerbaijan had freed those lands and the opponents should reconcile themselves to the fact.

Decisions were made with regards to the agenda items after the deliberations’ end, with which the two-day 9^th ordinary session of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly was over.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis