Azerbaijan upbeat about level of ties with Russia, Ukraine

Azerbaijani Parliament Speaker Sahiba Gafarova has discussed the high level of ties with Russia and Ukraine with relevant officials from Moscow and Kyiv.

At a meeting with First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly Andrey Yatskin on May 17, Gafarova said that Russian-Azerbaijani relations had reached a qualitatively new level, Report informs.

"Russian-Azerbaijani relations, the foundation of which was laid under Heydar Aliyev, are being successfully continued today by the leaders of Azerbaijan and Russia, and have reached a qualitatively new level,” she said.

Yatskin is visiting Azerbaijan to attend a special meeting of the Milli Majlis on the 100th anniversary of national leader Heydar Aliyev.

She thanked the Russian delegation for participating in the meeting and for sincere words about the great leader.

The indisputable merits of Heydar Aliyev in the development of Azerbaijani-Russian relations were noted at the meeting.

Expressing gratitude for the sincere meeting, the Russian official thanked Gafarova for the invitation to the event and said that the great son of the Azerbaijani people, Heydar Aliyev, is always remembered with great respect and gratitude in Russia. They remember the work done in Russia during his representation in the USSR leadership. Touching upon Azerbaijani-Russian relations, he highly appreciated Aliyev’s services in this area.

During the conversation, opinions were exchanged on other issues of interest to the parties.

Meanwhile, Gafarova also thanked Ukraine Verkhovna Rada Deputy Chairwoman Olena Kondratiuk for attending the meeting.

The Azerbaijani Speaker noted that Azerbaijan has always paid great attention to the development of relations with friendly countries, including Ukraine, and currently relations between our countries are at the level of strategic partnership.

It was also noted that relations between the legislative bodies of the two countries are at a high level. It was stressed that Azerbaijan and Ukraine closely cooperate both in a bilateral format and within the framework of international organizations.

The parties also discussed other issues of mutual interest.