Parliaments are playing important role in international cooperation - Russian senator

GENEVA, October 19. /TASS/. Parliaments may be playing a very important role in bridging countries, in improvement of mutual trust and understanding, speaker of the upper house of the Russian parliament Valentina Matviyenko said on sidelines of the 113rd meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in an exclusive interview with TASS’ Frist Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman. She said it is necessary "to make clear to the international community objectives and tasks of the Russian foreign policy, the country’s positions and thus to be heard and understandable." It is especially important now "under the conditions of tough information war, which continues against Russia." "In this respect, the Inter-Parliamentary Union is a universal platform," she said. "It is one of the oldest international parliamentary institutions - influential, respected and representational. It features parliaments of 167 countries." Though the organisation "has different views, but - and it is very valuable - IPU is not politicised" or "is not supporting any abrupt political statements or misbalanced suggestions." At the initiative of Russian parliamentarians the organisation’s Governing Council supported the statement made by IPU’s Chairman Saber Chowdhury about non-acceptance of using sanctions against MPs and of limiting the inter-parliamentary cooperation. "The delegates supported heartily that statement," the Russian senator said. "The meeting also decided not to organise IPU international meetings in countries which cannot guarantee a full-fledged inter-parliamentary dialogue without any limitations. The Russian delegation shared this position, too." "I am telling you quite sincerely: I was not expecting that interest to the Russian delegation at this session," she said. "Delegates from the UK, from France and the Baltic States, from many countries addressed me. They supported the suggestion from the Russian delegation, which I presented in my speech, they said they do understand us, they hear us, they said there should not be a one-polar world, that balance should be observed in the world." "We have suggested working on a report on unacceptable interference in sovereign countries, or a force coup," the Russian senior senator said. "We shall be working on this initiative, and I am sure most countries will support us at the next session." Read more