BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 16. Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament, Sahiba Gafarova, held a meeting with Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly, Valentina Matviyenko, on April 16 in Istanbul, within the framework of the 152nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the parliamentary press service told Trend.
Gafarova highlighted the importance of international platforms such as the IPU and the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network (NAM PN).
She noted that there is significant potential for further development of relations between the two countries and emphasized the important role of inter-parliamentary cooperation. Gafarova stressed that effective collaboration has already been established between the legislative bodies, with parliamentarians actively engaging in bilateral and multilateral formats, including within the Commonwealth of Independent States Parliamentary Assembly (CIS PA). She also underlined the importance of the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Commission between the Azerbaijani Parliament and the Russian Federal Assembly.
Valentina Matviyenko, in turn, referred to the joint statement by the foreign ministries of Russia and Azerbaijan regarding the December accident near Aktau on December 25, 2024, expressing condolences and stressing the importance of addressing its consequences. She also thanked Azerbaijan for assisting in the safe evacuation of Russian citizens from Iran amid recent conflict developments.
