Russia counting on Azerbaijani MPs' participation in monitoring State Duma elections

Russia is counting on the participation of Azerbaijani MPs in monitoring the State Duma elections, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Andrey Yatskin said at the 24th meeting of the Interparliamentary Commission on Cooperation between the Azerbaijani Parliament and the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Report informs.

"I would like to point out that we have a major electoral year ahead. I wanted to inform you that our colleagues from the State Duma are preparing for the election campaign. The president has already announced the date for the elections in September. We expect that Azerbaijani MPs will actively participate in monitoring the State Duma elections," he said.

Andrey Yatskin noted that the leaders of the two countries – Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev – attach great importance to the work of the interparliamentary commission.

According to him, it is the heads of state who set the direction of bilateral cooperation, and the parliaments consistently develop interaction in line with the agreements reached.

The first deputy speaker of the Federation Council emphasized that commission meetings are held regularly and are an important element of interparliamentary cooperation.

"Commission meetings are held twice a year – one in Azerbaijan and one in Russia. We are perhaps the only ones who adhere to this schedule. Typically, some commissions may not even meet once a year. Our regularity is confirmed in practice," he stated.

Yatskin also noted that the parties closely monitor the implementation of decisions made following commission meetings.

"We regularly monitor the implementation of our decisions. They are not formal or protocol-related. The minutes already identify the responsible persons, and the results of this work were presented in a number of speeches today," he said.

Elections for deputies to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the ninth convocation are scheduled for September 20, 2026.