President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin.

Welcoming the delegation, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- You are welcome. I am pleased to see you. I am sure that your visit will be very useful and pleasant. I remember our previous meeting. Time flies. Four years have passed since your previous visit to Azerbaijan. However, inter-parliamentary relations have developed rapidly during this period. We have been in constant contact with the State Duma and the Federation Council both at the level of leadership and at the level of MPs. This is a very important factor of interstate relations between our countries, and these relations have a very positive momentum. Of course, regular meetings at the level of heads of state also create conditions for maintaining this dynamism. As a whole, if we consider the agenda of our relations, it is quite broad and covers practically all areas. It would probably be easier to pinpoint areas where our cooperation is not so active. Because all indicators in the political, economic, transport, energy and humanitarian fields are visible, and we are seeing very good dynamics. The key thing is to focus on the results. All the issues we agreed on are being implemented. Eight road maps have been agreed and are being implemented in the economic, commercial, information, communication, transport and other spheres. There is a precise schedule for the implementation of the issues set in each direction, and their implementation is being monitored. Therefore, we can say that there is only a positive result here. Let me emphasize again that these results have been achieved by our joint efforts and are of great importance for our countries and, in my opinion, for the region as a whole. Of course, regional security issues are always on the agenda of our relations. We recently talked about this in our meeting with the Russian President in Samarkand. Of course, peace in our region is necessary for all countries and all peoples. Our agenda is quite unequivocal. We have repeatedly stated that we are in favor of long-term and sustainable peace, the solution of all problems related to our neighbors, and the recovery of this region from the difficult situation it was in for 30 years.

Regarding your field, I must say that we intend to continue our relations both within the framework of international institutions and in a bilateral format. You will meet with your counterpart. I think you will also review the agenda in detail. In short, there are many issues to talk about because the agenda is quite broad and effective. In my opinion, the main directions we are focusing on are evidence of the positive dynamics of bilateral relations.

Welcome again! Although your visit will be short, I think it will be very fruitful.

The Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Vyacheslav Volodin, said: Thank you, Mr. President. First of all, I want to thank you for finding the opportunity to meet with us despite your busy schedule. I want to start by conveying to you the kindest words and friendly greetings of President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you.

Vyacheslav Volodin: Our relations are developing in many ways thanks to you and our President. The Declaration on Allied Interaction has been signed. This is a very serious level achieved on the basis of a truly strategic partnership. That is why it is extremely important that we develop inter-parliamentary relations. We have talked about this. The pandemic has really disrupted our plans. If we talk about our inter-parliamentary interaction, the meetings, dialogue and communication form the basis of this activity. Of course, all this was done in the form of video conferencing. This format was the main one. But if there are no direct conversations, it is difficult to talk about the development of relations as in the mode of videoconferencing. Therefore, as soon as the situation related to the pandemic began to ease, we took advantage of this opportunity and agreed with our colleagues to meet and discuss the development of our relations. Because the Declaration signed by the presidents of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan emphasizes that our inter-parliamentary relations should be developed. Therefore, we will discuss communication formats and new approaches in order to make a tangible contribution to addressing the issues of legislation and those discussed at the level of the heads of state.

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The head of state thanked for the kind words and greetings of Vladimir Putin and asked the Chairman of State Duma to extend his greetings to the President of the Russian Federation.