Ukrainian lawmaker: 'Our pain is understandable and close to Azerbaijan'

The course of restoration work carried out by Azerbaijan in the city of Irpin and other issues of bilateral cooperation were discussed at a meeting between Ukrainian lawmaker Serhiy Nahornyak and Azerbaijani Ambassador to Kyiv Seymur Mardaliyev.

Report informs, citing Serhiy Nahornyak's Facebook page, that during the meeting they also shared their impressions of what they saw in the Kharkiv region. The ambassador, like Serhiy Nahornyak, visited this region with a difference of several days.

"Our pain is close to Azerbaijan," the lawmaker writes. According to him, the ambassador drew parallels with the destruction in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan and what he saw in Izyum and other cities of the Kharkiv region.

"We talked about the difficulties of demining that we will have to do, and about Azerbaijan's experience in this matter... Though Azerbaijan clears its de-occupied territories of landmines independently, without international support, it will provide Ukraine with a special mine-clearing vehicle," he said.

The MP noted that it was “painful to hear about Aghdam, in which not a single building remained. This once prosperous city is now called the 'Hiroshima of the Caucasus'.

“It is very similar to the history of our Bakhmut… However, we have something to share experience in, support each other, because our countries are on the side of international law and justice, and I believe in the possibility of intensifying the dialogue even under martial law in Ukraine,” he wrote.

During the meeting, the MP asked to convey words of gratitude from the Ukrainian people to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev for allocating $7.6 million for the purchase and transfer of equipment to Ukraine to restore the power grid. "We have a difficult winter ahead, but the support of our partners and friends helps to prepare for it as much as possible in the current conditions," the lawmaker said.

The Azerbaijani ambassador said that a group of Ukrainian children left for Azerbaijan for recovery and rehabilitation. It is planned to organize a trip of another group in autumn. Last year, 70 children from Ukraine already visited Azerbaijan.

Nahornyak invited Seymur Mardaliyev to visit the Cherkasy region.

"By the way, Cherkasy and the Azerbaijani city of Sumgayit are twin cities. And this is not in words, but in deeds. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Sumgayit sent dozens of tons of humanitarian aid to Cherkasy. Therefore, I plan to visit the street in Sumgayit, which is named after our city Cherkasy," Serhiy Nahornyak said.