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.








Matviyenko spoke positively about her meetings with President
Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva, noting her
appreciation of the discussions and the impressions they left on
her.


Both sides expressed satisfaction with the current level of
relations between the two countries, noting the key role of their
heads of state in advancing cooperation. The meeting also
emphasized the importance of cultural and humanitarian ties between
the peoples and included an exchange of views on other issues of
mutual interest.


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