As reported earlier, the delegation of the Azerbaijani parliament led by the Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova have been in the Russian Federation since 24 November for the meeting of the Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS and the 53^rd plenary sitting of the IPA.

On 25 November, Chair Sahiba Gafarova had a meeting with Birgitte Bischoff Ebbesen, Director for Europe of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

During their conversation, Sahiba Gafarova underlined the importance that Azerbaijan attaches to co-operation with the IFRC and told about the interaction with the Societies that had gone on for many years now. Some problems caused by the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan sadly remain unsolved for the time being, though, Mrs Gafarova added.

Garabagh War I made almost 4,000 Azerbaijanis missives; there are no clues as to their fates still. Their families and friends have not been able to trace any reference regarding them to date. Close to 1 million Azerbaijanis were evicted from their native lands becoming refugees and IDPs consequent to that conflict. Improving their living conditions was a priority with the Azerbaijani State; those people were always embraced with the state care.

Mrs Gafarova proceeded to tell Mrs Ebbesen that the conflict in question was history now whilst Azerbaijan strove to maintain peace and stability across the region. Large-scale rebuilding and restoration was initiated in the de-occupied lands and the internally displaced people will return to their fathers’ and forefathers’ homes soon enough.

The speaker of the Milli Majlis added that the conflict that had lasted for almost thirty years had been over when Azerbaijan had restored justice and freed its formerly Armenian-captured lands in the course of the 44 days’ Patriotic War. And yet, Armenia has been refusing to release the minefield maps to date in defiance of the international legal requirements and obstructing peace and stability in the region.

It is generally inadmissible to use the very wording ‘Nagorno Karabakh Conflict’: Azerbaijan, which made its lands whole and its borders intact again in last year’s war has no territorial unit called ‘Nagorno Karabakh’ in the first place, Mrs Gafarova continued. Also consequent to the Patriotic War, our country had independently enforced the resolutions of the UN Security Council that had demanded the immediate, unconditional and complete withdrawal of the occupying forces from the territory of Azerbaijan, added the leader of the Azerbaijani legislature.

Expressing her satisfaction with meeting the chair of the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan, Birgitte Bischoff Ebbesen talked about the work done by the Federation and its collaboration with Azerbaijan. Whilst the Federation is conducting operations to aid catastrophe victims in various countries around the world, it is also working on building the capacities of the National Societies that form its bulk of strength. The co-operation amongst the National Societies enables the Federation generously to extend and deliver aid to the needy, according to Ms Ebbesen.

The IFRC is interested in co-operating with Azerbaijan, which calls for assessment of the existing opportunities to that end, she added.

Other topics of joint interest were talked over during the conversation as well.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis