Russian and British lawmakers begin restoration of inter-parliamentary relations
Today a meeting between Chairman of the State Duma Viacheslav Volodin and members of the House of Lords of the British Parliament was held in the State Duma
This is the first visit of members of the British Parliament to the State Duma after a long break. At the invitation of the Chairman of the State Duma, members of the House of Lords of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The Viscount Waverley, The Lord Balfe, and The Rt Hon. the Lord Browne of Ladyton arrived in Russia.
“We can
talk about the resumption of inter-parliamentary contacts because this is the first meeting of members of the State Duma and the British Parliament. When
there is no dialogue, there is no trust. When a dialogue appears, it means
there will be trust. In any case, there will be more understanding of each
other and we can talk about the development of relations,” said Viacheslav
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)
.
“We were
amused by the openness of the Russians,” said The Viscount Waverley. “For us it
is important to build relationships, working from the inside, understanding the people who live in this country, and not from the outside,” he stressed.
“That is why we invited you to Moscow after our brief meeting,” agreed the Chairman of the State Duma.
“The conversation was open, we did not ignore the acute topics. It [conversation] can be considered the beginning of inter-parliamentary dialogue,” Viacheslav Volodin emphasized.
The meeting participants agreed that it is necessary to continue the dialogue
within the framework of PACE, the Arctic Council, and also discussed the possibility of holding a conference with the participation of European
countries, the USA, Israel, and other countries on the protection of the historical memory of World War II next year.
“During
the meeting, the historical results of World War II were discussed. A proposal
was made to meet and discuss with foreign parliamentarians the necessity to convey the truth about this war. It is also worth discussing in what format
this dialogue can be conducted,” said one of its participants, Deputy Chairman
of the State Duma Petr Tolstoy
Petr Olegovich
, following the meeting. He also noted that it
would be possible to discuss a conference with the participation of European
parliamentarians.
On September 24 this year in Nur Sultan, on the sidelines of the 4th Meeting of Speakers of the Eurasian Countries’ Parliaments, Viacheslav Volodin and The third Viscount Waverley, met for the first time and discussed the need to restore ties between the parliaments of the two countries.
The last inter-parliamentary contact took place at the initiative of the British side on 26 April 2016. It was a meeting of the members of the State Duma Committee on Defense with the delegation of the Defense Committee of the House of Commons of the British Parliament.
