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A peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia will soon be signed, Azernews reports, citing MP Samad Seyidov of the parliamentary Committee on International and Interparliamentary Relations.

Seyidov made the remarks at the 7th trilateral meeting of the Foreign Relations Committees of the Azerbaijani, Turkish and Georgian parliaments in Shusha on May 22.

Speaking about the May 22 Brussels meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the initiative of European Council President Charles Michel, Seyidov expressed confidence that a peace deal soon will be signed between the two countries.

Welcoming the delegations led by the chairmen of the Turkish and the Georgian parliamentary committees on foreign relations Akif Çağatay Kılıç and Nikoloz Samkharadze respectively, Seyidov expressed his delight at the opportunity to host such a meeting in Azerbaijan's cultural capital - Shusha.

Underlining the importance of the first trilateral meeting in Shusha, he noted that Azerbaijan liberated its territories, occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years, following the 44-day war in 2020.

The MP recalled that during the 30 years, Armenia destroyed Azerbaijan’s historical, material and cultural heritage, as well as villages and towns in the formerly occupied territories, therefore, these areas are referred to as the "Hiroshima of the Caucasus".

He noted that the reconstruction work is underway in those areas and there is still much work to be done. Speaking about the importance of the meeting in Shusha, Seyidov underlined the historical significance of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visits to Shusha and the signing of the Shusha Declaration between Azerbaijan and Turkey in June 2021.

In turn, Samkharadze thanked the host for the organization of the meeting, emphasizing that the format of the meeting creates a good basis for the development. Such events are important in terms of considering the role of parliaments in regional cooperation.

Samkharadze noted that friendship groups operating in parliaments and cooperation in international parliamentary organizations played a special role in the development of relations between the two countries. The chairman of the Georgian parliamentary committee shared his views on the role of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars projects in regional cooperation and prospects for economic cooperation between Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The head of the Turkish delegation, Akif Çağatay Kılıç, stressed the importance of the meetings held in this format and thanked the host for the organization of the event in the liberated Azerbaijani city of Shusha. He also credited Azerbaijan for efforts to normalize relations with Armenia after the liberation of its own lands.

"We must work together to ensure our future. Parliaments and their representatives must work for the future as representatives of their people. Turkey supports Azerbaijan and believes that relations between the two countries [Azerbaijan and Armenia] will soon improve and lasting peace and stability will be established in the region," Kilic stressed.

Then parliamentarians from all three countries Asim Mollazada, Derya Bakbak, Mehmet Guzelmansur, Sabir Rustamxanli, Sevinj Fataliyeva, Nigar Arpadarai, Davit Zilpimiani, Kamil Aydin and others spoke about the importance of holding such a joint meeting in the liberated territories, the cultural capital of Azerbaijan Shusha.

Members of the Parliamentary Committee on International and Interparliamentary Relations MP Rasim Musabayov, Ramil Hasan, Sahib Aliyev, Elman Nasirov, Nasib Mahamaliyev, Azar Karimli, Sevil Mikayilova, Javanshir Feyziyev, Ramin Mammadov, members of the Foreign Relations Committees of the Turkish and Georgian parliaments and other officials also attended the meeting.

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