Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova met the visiting delegation led by Chairman of the group of the Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu) for Azerbaijan Sven Sester on 1 November.

During the conversation, Sahiba Gafarova recalled that Estonia was amongst the first to recognise the independence of Azerbaijan. The invariably sound relations between our countries and nations are based on mutual respect; and the roles of the parliaments in the furtherance of those relations are undeniable, according to the Chair of the Milli Majlis. The diplomatic relations, established in 1992, are turning thirty next year; a solid legal framework has been constructed for the bilateral interaction in those years. Our true potential to tap to develop the relations is considerably larger than what has actually been achieved to date; meanwhile, the progressing inter-parliamentary connexions are contributing valuably to the advance of the economic, humanitarian, cultural, educational and other ties, according to Mrs Gafarova.

She went further to praise the statement that the Riigikogu had made ahead of the Victory Day of Azerbaijan. Speaking of the immense importance of the two legislative assemblies in the expansion of the current bilateral ties, Sahiba Gafarova mentioned the inter-parliamentary connexions working groups in both the Milli Majlis and the Riigikogu. Meanwhile, there are sound opportunities to broaden the interaction between Azerbaijani and Estonian MPs under the aegis of international organisations.

The Chair of the Milli Majlis informed the Estonian MPs of the new situation and the new realia that had emerged in our region after the conflict had been ended in the autumn of 2020. Azerbaijan, which won the 44-day Patriotic War, had used its right of self-defence, fixed in the international documents, incidentally, to recover its own lands from the occupation. In this way, not only had our country restored its territorial integrity but it had also enforced the certain four resolutions of the UN Security Council, Mrs Gafarova emphasised.

For thirty long years Azerbaijan had been toiling at finding a peaceful settlement to the conflict through the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group; the work done by the Minsk Group had proven fruitless, though.

The conflict was done away with by virtue of the trilateral statement signed by the Russian and Azerbaijani presidents and the Armenian prime-minister. The conflict in Highland Garabagh was left in the past consequently. Generally speaking, there is no territorial department called ‘Nagorno Karabakh’ in Azerbaijan and it is inadmissible to make references to that very expression therefore, according to Mrs Gafarova.

The two new economic regions of Garabagh and East Zangazur were created in Azerbaijan pursuant to the decree that President Ilham Aliyev signed in July this year. Azerbaijan has embarked on the large-scale restoration work in its de-occupied lands. As for opening the Zangazur Corridor, it is crucial for the regional countries’ prosperity.

Azerbaijan is keen on having inviolable peace and well-being in the region, according to Sahiba Gafarova who recalled the already-stated preparedness of Azerbaijan to strike up peace treaty talks – after Armenia would fulfil all the conditions of that trilateral statement, that is. Besides, positive signals have been surfacing in this regard.

As Mrs Gafarova reminded the guests, Azerbaijan is a multinational state where representatives of various nations and ethnic groups coexist. Multiculturalism and tolerance are not just a state policy but the inherent way of life in Azerbaijan.

The chairman of the Riigikogu working group on Azerbaijan Sven Sester said that Azerbaijan was well-respected in Azerbaijan. He praised the work done in Estonia by our embassy and diaspora alike, adding that Estonia had always supported the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Sven Sester remarked confidently that the liberated lands of Azerbaijan would soon flourish just like the other provinces of the country did.

Other matters of interest to both sides were discussed at the meeting as well.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis