Azerbaijani parliament speaker, former Turkish FM discuss inter-parliamentary cooperation

Sahiba Gafarova, Speaker of the Milli Majlis (parliament) of Azerbaijan, held a meeting with Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, former Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Member of the Grand National Assembly, and head of the Turkish delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

According to the Azerbaijani Parliament's press service, the meeting centred on the growing inter-parliamentary cooperation between Azerbaijan and Türkiye, Caliber.Az reports. 

Both parties highlighted that the legislative bodies and lawmakers of the two nations maintain a unified stance across all international platforms. Gafarova and Çavuşoğlu agreed on the critical role of parliamentary collaboration in combating defamatory campaigns and external pressures targeting their countries.

The discussions also underscored the successful organization of COP29 and emphasized the significance of the upcoming international conference of the Western Azerbaijan Community, titled "The Right to Return: Justice for Azerbaijanis Forcibly Expelled from Armenia," which is scheduled to be held in Baku.

Note that, on December 4, former Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visited Azerbaijan to attend the conference "The Right of Return: Ensuring Justice for Azerbaijanis Forcibly Displaced from Armenia." During his visit, he toured the Western Azerbaijan Community (WAC), where Aziz Alakbarli, Chairman of the WAC, highlighted Türkiye’s political and moral support to Azerbaijan during the Patriotic War.

Alakbarli emphasized the community's goal of raising awareness about the restoration of rights for Azerbaijanis displaced from their ancestral lands over the past 200 years, particularly during the final wave of deportations when approximately 300,000 Azerbaijanis were forced to leave Armenia.

Çavuşoğlu reaffirmed Türkiye's steadfast support for Azerbaijan, commending the country’s peaceful policies and legal efforts to return displaced people to their homes. He stressed that Azerbaijan’s actions comply with international law, but criticized Armenia for destroying cultural heritage during its occupation of Azerbaijani lands.

Çavuşoğlu reiterated that displaced Azerbaijanis have a fundamental right to return to their ancestral lands and called for increased global attention to the issue.

WAC members also expressed disappointment over Armenia's refusal to engage in dialogue, condemning its racist policies and urging a peaceful, dignified return for the displaced Azerbaijanis.

By Aghakazim Guliyev