BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 21. Azerbaijani Parliament’s Chairperson Sahiba Gafarova has sent a response letter to the European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, Trend reports via the Azerbaijani Parliament.
According to the response letter, cooperation between the legislative branches of power is of particular importance against the background of the high level of relations between Azerbaijan and the European Union and the prospects for further development of these relations.
The letter noted that the Azerbaijani Parliament has always demonstrated readiness to deepen cooperation with the European Parliament.
Gafarova positively assessed the words of the president of the European Parliament about the commitment of the organization she represents to continue developing relations with the Azerbaijani Parliament in the spirit of mutual respect.
Besides, according to the letter, Azerbaijani MPs also represented in the institutions of international cooperation, have the right to freely express their opinion on issues within their competence, and censorship in Azerbaijani Parliament is unacceptable.
The response letter further said that the Azerbaijani MPs in the EU-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (PCC), based on the intention to expand the dialogue with European colleagues, actively interacted with their colleagues and worked on new initiatives aimed at developing mutually beneficial cooperation.
"We would like to see the same attitude from the European Parliament. False, biased, and one-sided accusations expressed in biased statements and resolutions cannot be considered as constructive criticism and do not serve the above purposes. Moreover, the PCC should become a platform to help strengthen cooperation between the Azerbaijani and the European Parliaments through joint efforts," Gafarova pointed out.
She also expressed hope for strengthening cooperation between the two structures on the basis of mutual trust and understanding.