On Monday, February 13, the Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin
Vyacheslav Victorovich
The Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the eighth convocation. Elected in single mandate constituency № 163 (Saratov constituency - Saratov Oblast)
held a meeting with the Chairwoman
of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova.
Vyacheslav Volodin and Sahiba Gafarova signed an Agreement on Cooperation between the State Duma and the Milli Majlis. This is the first such agreement with the Parliament of Azerbaijan. There was also made a decision to establish a high-level inter-parliamentary commission.
“Relations between our countries are developing dynamically. We should express gratitude to our presidents, who set that dynamics and lay a powerful foundation for the development of relations,” stressed the Chairman of the State Duma.
According to Vyacheslav Volodin, the parliamentarians of the State Duma and the Milli Majlis should work on providing legislative support for the decisions made at the presidential level, as the citizens of Russia and Azerbaijan are waiting for that.
The Chairman of the State Duma said that the signing of the Agreement was a significant event that would help to reach a new level of cooperation between the State Duma and the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan. “For us, this is not only a very important, but also a responsible step for building cooperation, because we are talking about the implementation of new formats of cooperation. And the agreement should help us to do that,” said Vyacheslav Volodin.
He also called for enhancement of cooperation at the level of relevant committees.
“Relations between Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation have been built on the basis of centuries-old friendship, good neighborliness, mutual understanding and trust between our countries. The most important thing is the friendship of our nations,” said the Chairwoman of the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova.
She noted the trade growth, as well as the growth of the volume of investments of the Russian Federation in the economy of Azerbaijan, and also emphasized the special role of interaction between the two countries in the cultural and humanitarian spheres. Sahiba Gafarova recalled Azerbaijan did not close Russian schools: “There are still 340 Russian schools,education in Russian is conducted in 27 universities in Azerbaijan. There are many Azerbaijani students in the Russian Federation. This is also an indicator of the relations between our nations, especially between our young people.”
The Chairmwoman of the Milli Majlis expressed confidence that the signing of the Agreement would contribute to the comprehensive strengthening of cooperation between the two countries.
Vyacheslav Volodin also said that in 2023 the State Duma planned to hold an exhibition dedicated to the national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev to mark the centenary of his birth. It may be held in May.
Settlement of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh region
Vyacheslav Volodin and Sahiba Gafarova discussed the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh region. The Chairwoman of the Milli Majlis stressed that Azerbaijan highly appreciated the role of Russian President Vladimir Putin in resolving the conflict.
The Chairman of the State Duma warned against attempts to involve European structures, in particular the European Parliament and PACE, in resolving the situation in the region, recalling the results of their activities in Ukraine. Vyacheslav Volodin stressed that the settlement of the conflict should be based on an agreement signed by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia.
“There is a decision taken at the level of the heads of states — Azerbaijan, Armenia and the Russian Federation. We should comply with that agreements and do everything to ensure that these agreements are implemented,” said Vyacheslav Volodin. “And those who make statements in favor of European institutions can simply lose the country,” he added.
“Before appealing to the European Parliament and inviting this structure, we should think: in general, the participation of the European Parliament, PACE, has helped to solve any acute issue or settle any conflict situation? There is no such example,” said the Chairman of the State Duma. “Look at what happened in Ukraine, remember those statements that were made by German Chancellor Merkel and French President Hollande. As it turned out, they deceived the whole world, they lied, while they were preparing for war,” he stressed.
“What happened to Ukraine? Ukrainians are used as expense items; a country is simply stuffed with weapons. A huge number of people are dying, statehood has been lost, culture has been lost, religion has been trampled, the church has been divided, English is used as the language for interethnic communication is. That is just a colony of the United States of America,” said Vyacheslav Volodin.
“Just as the United States, under the guise of goodwill and a desire to help, had already destroyed Yugoslavia. By the way, when peaceful Belgrade was bombed, no European Parliament or PACE tried to help in that situation,” recalled the Chairman of the State Duma.
“Therefore, if you want to involve the European Parliament and PACE, you must think 10 times and think about the possible results, by looking at the example of Ukraine, Yugoslavia, and other countries. Anyone who wants peace, who wants to resolve the situation, must not only stay away from these quasi-parliaments, like PACE and the European Parliament, but clearly understand that their involvement will worsen the situation, create more and more problems. And if they do this, then they must bear responsibility for the consequences,” emphasized Vyacheslav Volodin.
