The speakers met in St Petersburg on the sidelines of the spring session of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS member states.
Federation Council Speaker and Chair of the Council of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly Valentina Matvienko met with Speaker of the National Assembly (Milli Mejlis) of the Republic of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova on the sidelines of the spring session of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS member states (IPA CIS) held in St Petersburg. The Federation Council Speaker noted that the meeting was part of a productive dialogue maintained by Russian and Azerbaijani MPs.
Valentina Matvienko said that Russian-Azerbaijani relations were on the rise and noted the high level of mutual trust and understanding between the presidents of the two countries.
“This high level of relations was reaffirmed in the Declaration on Allied Interaction signed last year.”
Valentina Matvienko pointed out that cooperation between the two parliaments was growing rapidly and that mutual support at international parliamentary organisations was a major area for interaction.
The parliamentary officials discussed the performance of the Interparliamentary Commission on Cooperation between the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the National Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which is scheduled to meet in Moscow.
They talked about the upcoming celebrations of the 100th birthday of Heydar Aliyev. “Heydar Aliyev is emblematic of our history. He undoubtedly was an outstanding statesman from whom many of us learned a lot. We look forward to the major events and socio-political actions panned for this occasion,” the Federation Council Speaker said, adding that a council delegation led by First Deputy Speaker Andrey Yatskin would attend the celebrations in Baku.
Sahiba Gafarova noted that meetings with colleagues from the other CIS countries were an important part of IPA CIS. “The development of relations between Russia and Azerbaijan is an example for other countries. Our cooperation is developing dynamically, and our relations remain stable.” She added that growing relations between the two countries’ parliaments was evidence of the first historical ties between Russia and Azerbaijan.
The two speakers discussed bilateral cooperation at IPA CIS. Valentina Matvienko noted that Azerbaijan had sent a large delegation to the spring session of the IPA.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin, First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov, and Secretary General, Head of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat Dmitry Kobitsky.