The second trilateral meeting of the interparliamentary friendship groups of Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was held in Ankara at the building of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (GNAT).
Azerbaijan was represented in the discussions by a delegation led by Javanshir Feyziyev, head of Azerbaijan-TRNC friendship group, and Ahliman Amiraslanov, head of the Azerbaijan-Türkiye interparliamentary friendship group, The Caspian Post reports citing AZERTAC.
The Azerbaijani delegation also included MPs Eldar Guliyev and Anar Mammadov.
Opening the discussions held under the motto ‘Three States, One Nation’, Şamil Ayrım, head of the Türkiye-Azerbaijan interparliamentary friendship group, emphasized the fruitful relations between Ankara and Baku. He touched upon the importance of the meeting held between the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and the U.S. in the White House in August, describing the opening of the Zangezur corridor as promising. Şamil Ayrım labelled the corridor between the western regions of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic “Türkiye’s window to the Turkic world”. The Turkish MP also highlighted the construction of the Kars-Nakhchivan railway and the launch of the Iğdır-Nakhchivan gas pipeline, stating that: "Ankara will not allow Azerbaijan's interests to be violated, including the issue of opening the Turkish-Armenian borders."
Head of the Türkiye-TRNC interparliamentary friendship group, Orhan Erdem, in his remarks, expressed gratitude to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for his contribution to the development of relations and support for the TRNC. He emphasized that the decision of the Milli Majlis to establish a working group on interparliamentary relations with the TRNC marked a significant milestone for both the Turkish Cypriots and Türkiye. O. Erdem recalled that the delegation of the Milli Majlis was the first foreign parliamentary group to visit Lefkosa. He noted that Ankara and Lefkosa are making joint efforts to establish interparliamentary friendship groups with the TRNC and other states.
Head of the Azerbaijan-Türkiye interparliamentary friendship group, Ahliman Amiraslanov, hailed the dialogue between parliamentarians of Azerbaijan, Türkiye and the TRNC. He emphasized that friendship and unity between Türkiye and Azerbaijan achieved widespread success across all areas. Highlighting Türkiye’s support during the 44-day war, Ahliman Amiraslanov emphasized the importance of signing of the historic Shusha Declaration. Touching upon relations with the TRNC, the Azerbaijani MP drew attention to President Ilham Aliyev's position in support of developing relations with TRNC, saying: "Today, there is a special need to establish new interparliamentary friendship groups. Azerbaijan raised this issue at TURKPA meetings".
Javanshir Feyziyev, head of the working group of the Milli Majlis on interparliamentary relations with the TRNC, labelled the Northern Cyprus as “the shared responsibility of the Turkic world”, noting that all Turkic states should make efforts to address the problems faced by the Turkish Cypriots.
In turn, the TRNC parliamentarians expressed hope that relations with Azerbaijan will further foster.
The meeting continued behind closed doors.
