Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova met with the visiting delegation led by the former British MP and ex-deputy minister Shahid Malik on 12 June.

Welcoming the guests sincerely, the speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament said that the relations between Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom were of historical and strategic importance. She added that Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom enjoyed friendly relations and a strategic partnership today and that Her Majesty’s Government supported the position of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the issues of principle, both in bilateral and multilateral formats, including the issue of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Speaker Sahiba Gafarova went further to underscore the progress of the bilateral economic ties and mentioned the high-level interaction in the energy sector especially.

There are also sound connexions between the legislative assemblies of Azerbaijan and the UK – such that manifest their positive momentum in the bilateral and multilateral co-operation between the two parliaments, both of which, incidentally, have the dedicated friendship groups in action.

Informing the guests of Azerbaijan’s outstanding victory in the 44-day Patriotic War subsequently, Madame Chair stressed that 2020 was a particularly important year in the history of our country as it was during it that Azerbaijan liberated its territories from Armenian invaders, restored its territorial integrity and enforced the UN Security Council’s 4 resolutions on the conflict single-handedly. The signing of the Trilateral Statement of 10 November 2020 gave rise to new realia in the region whilst also guaranteeing enduring stability and the return of the hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani refugees to their homelands. Azerbaijan eliminated the primary obstacle for the safe and secure development in the Caucasian Region. As for now, the Azerbaijani side have stepped on to the new period of restoration and re-construction.

The guests were also informed of the Armenian provocations made after the said Statement had been signed. The Chair of the Milli Majlis told them that many Azerbaijani military personnel and civilians had died after the war on the mines planted by Armenia in our liberated provinces. Armenia is declining to release the minefield maps despite the repeated urges of the Azerbaijani side; in this way, Armenia is breaking the international humanitarian laws and continues war crimes on its part. Madame Speaker cited the death of three Azerbaijanis, two of them journalists, whilst on duty on 4 June. Besides, the let it be known that Armenia would not stop short of provocations also in the matter of border delimitation. In a rampant defiance of the provisions of the Trilateral Statement of 10 November 2020, Armenia continues sending terrorist groups to the freed lands and then tries to pass the terrorists intercepted in the Azerbaijani territories after the Statement signing date for prisoners of war.

Thanking for the warm welcome, the members of the British delegation expressed their satisfaction with having come to Azerbaijan and with the progress of the country that they could eyewitness alike.

The delegation consists of the former MP and former deputy minister Shahid Malik, political analyst Quraishi Shahid, the founder and editor of the publication T-Vine Özerim Ipek, video journalist Edward Crawford, journalist Edward Rowe and researcher Nicholas Reynolds.

The Chair of the Milli Majlis mentioned during the conversation that the members of the British delegation were going to take a trip to the lands of Azerbaijan freed from the occupation and would be able to see for themselves the destruction wreaked by Armenia there. Mrs Gafarova said she hoped that the media people would communicate to international audiences the message about the Armenian vandalism witnessed by them without bias.

Then, Speaker Sahiba Gafarova answered the journalists’ questions.

It should be mentioned that the Leader of the Milli Majlis Working Group for the inter-parliamentary connexions Azerbaijan-Great Britain Javanshir Feyziyev, Chief of Staff of the Milli Majlis Safa Mirzayev and the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Azerbaijan Republic to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Tahir Taghizade took part in the meeting as well.

The Press and Public Relations
Department  The Milli Majlis