Russia and Austria may create an inter-parliamentary commission

Creation of a commission as a new stage in relations

Viacheslav Volodin Volodin
Vyacheslav Victorovich The Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the eighth convocation. Elected in single mandate constituency № 163 (Saratov constituency - Saratov Oblast) emphasized that international interparliamentary platforms, such as the Conference of Speakers of Eurasian Countries’ Parliaments, give concrete results. So, bilateral parliamentary commissions are created.

“Through this format, we come to discussion of concrete issues,” the Chairman of the State Duma emphasized. He noted that such commission already exists with China, Italy, ‘we are discussing the format with our colleagues from the Bundestag.’

“This allows us to engage in the development of relations between the countries within the parliamentary dimension,” said Viacheslav Volodin and added that such commissions are a good addition to the agreements reached by the executive authorities of the countries. He proposed to create such commission between the State Duma and the National Council of Austria.

“We could use this format for the development of relations with you,” said Viacheslav Volodin. He believes that the creation of the commission will fill the agenda of the two countries with concrete content.

The parties could discuss the digital economy, artificial intelligence, robotics, and the challenges that need to be addressed together. In particular, he noted that in Europe there is no legislation governing the relationship between humans and robots. “Consolidating efforts and holding meetings, we must work for a concrete result,” Viacheslav Volodin emphasized.

Wolfgang Sobotka supported the idea: ”We need to deepen and expand the parliamentary dialogue.“ He suggested, ”to agree on a working level a draft document establishing such cooperation between the State Duma and the National Council.“

“The Austrian side is interested in intensifying contacts with Russia,” he stressed.

Situation in Syria

The Chairman of the State Duma called a difficult situation what is happening in Syria, but ”it can already be stated that the nearly-formed terrorist state in Syria has been destroyed, and there is no way to restore it on that territory.“

However terrorists flee from this country to others, and in this regard, Viacheslav Volodin again called for the formation of a single list of terrorist organizations and model legislation.

Honor of the Victory

The Chairman of the State Duma also invited Wolfgang Sobotka to visit Russia, in particular, to come on May 9th. Speaking about preserving the monuments to deceased soldiers-liberators in Europe, Viacheslav Volodin noted that “Austria is an example for others. For us, it is very important to carefully preserve the memory of the deceased.”

Wolfgang Sobotka noted that “the Austrian side sees this as an important task. It has great symbolic significance for us.”