The Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova received on 1 February the delegation led by the Chair of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Markéta Pekarová Adamová who are in Azerbaijan on an official visit.

It was mentioned at the meeting that the diplomatic relations between our countries had turned 30 years in 2023 and that the relations had been progressing in a number of areas in that period. The role of high-level reciprocal visits and meetings and regular contacts in the progress of the relations was underscored as well. The existing legal framework that encompasses the diverse areas of the bilateral agenda serves the purpose of strengthening the bilateral relations further.

Sahiba Gafarova condemned the actions of Armenia and her patrons aimed to deceive the international community with claims about ‘ethnic cleansing’ and ‘Azerbaijan’s pursuit of a new war’ as well as she did the campaign of lies levelled at our country. The latest developments in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, too, are part of the campaign of deceit targeting our country. The PACE ought to be a dialogue and co-operation but the deep-seated double standards are clearly seen within the Assembly.

Sahiba Gafarova said regretfully that some countries and international organisations, in particular the PACE, have never talked about restoring the rights of our 750,000 IDPs during the occupation – and today are refusing to broach the subject of the rights of the 250,000 Azerbaijani refugees from Armenia.

Markéta Pekarová Adamová, in turn, emphasised that her country had not taken part in the debate about the aforementioned matter concerning Azerbaijan in the PACE and had voted against it.

Sahiba Gafarova described the 30-year-long occupation of Azerbaijan’s lands as a black page in the annals of Armenia. Azerbaijan had independently enforced the resolutions of international organisations including the 4 well-known resolutions of the UN SC, and had de-occupied her lands. Mrs Gafarova reiterated that the 3 UN missions that had visited the said areas following the local anti-terrorist measures of September last year had not recorded any damage to civil infrastructure or civilian casualties.

Strongly criticising the conduct of France with respect to Azerbaijan, Sahiba Gafarova remarked that France did not want peace in the South Caucasus and supplied Armenia with weapons. Such an approach does not serve peace but, rather, aims to instigate a new conflict.

The Speaker stressed again that no-one and no state can apply pressure to Azerbaijan at the negotiating table. It was Azerbaijan that had come up with peace initiatives and remains interested in continuing the peace conversations. Meanwhile, Armenia has to date been evading the signing of a peace treaty and delaying the execution of the obligations it assumed – even though the conflict was over 3 years ago.

The Speaker of the Milli Majlis spoke of Azerbaijan’s respectful attitude to the territorial integrity of all the countries and added that Azerbaijan also insisted on a respectful attitude towards her own territorial integrity and sovereignty. However, there are territorial claims directed against Azerbaijan in the Constitution and other legislative acts of Armenia.

As she spoke of the large-scale restoration and building work that the Azerbaijani Government had begun in the lands de-occupied following the conflict, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis remarked that Azerbaijan was doing that work with reliance on major investments. The former IDPs have begun to return to their homes. This proves that Azerbaijan is not interested in another war. The people of Azerbaijan want peace, Sahiba Gafarova said, going further also to stress the efforts made by our country to ensure sustainable peace and stability in the region.

There is no doubt that Garabagh is an integral part of Azerbaijan; the Czech Republic has supported the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan invariably and is today glad to voice its support for continuation of the Azerbaijan-Armenia dialogue for the sake of lasting peace and tranquillity in the South Caucasus, said Chair of the Chamber of Deputies of Czechia Markéta Pekarová Adamová.

Then, Mrs Pekarová Adamová congratulated the Azerbaijani side on the forthcoming hosting of the 29^th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), adding that the Czech Republic was going to be maintain a high level of representation at the conference.

It was said then that Azerbaijan had always been a dependable partner in the energy sector, that 30 per cent of the Czech demand for oil products was met with Azerbaijani oil and that stronger co-operation in tourism, humanitarian affairs and other fields, too, was an important means of broadening human contacts. In this regard, it is imperative to continue fostering the links in education, sciences and culture as well as to stage mutual cultural events.

Chair of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic’s Parliament Markéta Pekarová Adamová said then that this was her first official visit to our country and that she was glad to be in Baku. She also said confidently that the current visit was bound to serve the growth of bilateral relations. Czechia is interested in a continued progress of its links with Azerbaijan in every area, according to Mrs Pekarová Adamová who mentioned that her delegation included the people representative of the Czech business circles and universities. She said that that signified the intention of Czechia of continuing the diversely-themed dialogue with Azerbaijan.

Speaker Sahiba Gafarova underscored the considerable role played by the parliaments in making the bilateral ties stronger; she also referred to the significance of two-way visits and meetings of the Heads of Parliament and of the legislatures’ friendship groups. Such visits are important for consideration of existing priorities and opinion exchanges. The two speakers declared the intention to bolster the relevant co-operation.

There was also an exchange of opinions about the growth prospects of inter-state and inter-parliamentary co-operation and about other matters of shared interest as the conversation went on.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis