Russian parliamentarians to accept US colleagues in Moscow for dialogue on Syria
Sergei Naryshkin
Photo: RIA Novosti
Chairman of the State Duma Sergei Naryshkin said that the Russian parliament did not intend to give up contacts with the US congressmen and ready to take their delegation in Moscow, despite the earlier refusal of Washington to discuss "the Syrian issue" with the deputies of the Russian Federation.
"We
are open for discussion. This is the strength of our position ", - told
reporters on Tuesday Naryshkin, answering the question on board of the
aircraft which took off from Strasbourg to Moscow.
At
the invitation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
speaker participated in the fall session of this international
organization and spoke today at the PACE tribune and answered the
questions of European parliamentarians.
In
early September, when there was a real threat of force strike against
Damascus, and the issue had to be discussed in Congress, a group of
deputies of the State Duma was formed, ready to immediately fly to the
US for meetings with the US colleagues.
Russian
MPs wanted to use all the possibilities, including parliamentary
diplomacy for the peaceful settlement of the conflict around Syria.
However, Congress did not support this initiative and refused to accept
the Duma delegation.
Naryshkin,
meanwhile, believes that it is in the mutual interests to continue
communication, despite the difference of positions, especially that at
the level of diplomats resolution on Syria has been reached.
The
speaker shared with the reporters information which he said, has not
yet officially been confirmed, "The information was passed that
allegedly they (the Congress) are discussing the possibility to come
here."
Responding to a question if he was satisfied with his performance in PACE, Naryshkin said: "I have a good mood."
He added that that was the first time he visited Strasbourg and he enjoyed the city.
Chairman
of the Russian State Duma Sergei Naryshkin, speaking from the platform
of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe earlier today,
has suggested teaching Nuremberg process documentation at school,
reports VoR's correspondent Lada Korotun.
"The
crimes against humanity committed by the Nazis were condemned in
Nuremberg. The decisions made by the International Military Tribunal are
of a permanent character. However, some contemporary politicians seem
to forget about it as well as about the fact that both world wars were
unleashed with the connivance of those who at the time weren't yet
subjected to the evil which was already claiming freedom and peoples'
lives in other countries," he underlined.
As
the Chairman of the Russian Historical Society and the head of the
Organizing Committee preparing festivities dedicated to the 100th
anniversary of the WWI breakout Naryshkin warned that such lessons
shouldn't be forgotten and "the protection of the historical truth
should be our joint task both in the framework of national educational
programs and European youth policy".
"In
this respect, I suggest teaching Nuremberg process documentation at
schools as well as at universities," the politician said.
He
also considers necessary to make Nuremberg process principal documents
available in all European languages and to post them on the websites of
the Council of Europe, UN, OSCE and other international organizations.
Naryshkin started his speech in French to show his respect to France, Strasbourg residents and the Assembly itself.
He reminded that his visit in Europe had been scheduled a year ago but couldn't take place.
"However,
the reasons which made me delay my visit back then turned out to be an
additional and serious motive for a meeting today," Naryshkin said.
He
also pointed out there have been new attempts "to stir up discord in
the PACE work and distract the Assembly from solving really pending
issues, including those connected to the necessity of reforming the
parliamentary monitoring system".
An
autumn session of the Parliamentary Assemby of the Council of Europe
(PACE) opens here on Monday. A speech to be made by Sergei Naryshkin,
Speaker of the State Duma lower house of the Russian parliament, as RF
delegation leader Alexei Pushkov put it, will be the session's "central
event".
Pushkov
recalled that Naryshin's visit had been planed at PACE a year ago but
"was frustrated through the efforts of a number of national delegations
that suggested draft recommendations about a discriminatory double
monitoring of Russia".
"In
such conditions, the (Duma Speaker's) trip turned out to be impossible.
The draft recommendations were then turned down, and there are no
obstacles (to the visit) any longer now," the RF chief delegate
emphasized.
He said that about 50 Europarliamentarians expressed readiness to put questions to the State Duma Speaker.
"There
will be five main questions from all political groups of PACE," Pushkov
pointed out, adding that he expects a discussion of the most acute
problems of the Russia-Europe agenda.
An
urgent debate on how to settle the conflict in Syria is expected to be
held within the scope of the session. "Syria is the key issue of world
politics and, undoubtedly, PACE must adopt its own resolution on the
issue," Pushkov said.
In the opinion of the RF chief delegate, "A very serious evolution (of views) on the Syrian problem occurred in Strasbourg".
"Dominating
two years ago was a point of view that a democratic revolution was
taking place in Syria and that the people was fighting tyranny, whereas
now the viewpoint has changed, inclining to the Russian argumentation,"
the RF member of parliament pointed out.
Pushkov
said that a statement had been even adopted at the PACE Bureau session
in Croatia, the statement which laid emphasis on the assumption that the
Syrian problem must be solved by political mehods, not by the use of
force, and that any use of chemical weapons by any side inolved in the
conflict is inadmissible".
Voice of Russia, TASS, Interfax
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