Mutual support
Maja Gojković noted the interaction of Russia and Serbia on international and interparliamentary platforms.
“I am glad that we were able to jointly sign the Belgrade Declaration, which is based on the principles of international law, and this is very important for us,” she said.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the Russian Federation for the support that you are giving us in every way in terms of recognizing the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia. You are part of a group of countries that respect international law,” said Maja Gojković. She thanked Russia for not recognizing Kosovo’s independence and for the fact that Russia never votes against Serbia’s interests in international organizations. “Serbia will never vote against the interests of the Russian Federation in international organizations,” stressed the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia.
“We are proud that we never introduced sanctions against the Russian Federation and will never do this,” she said. This position, she said, proves the independence of Serbia.
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)
believes that the development of relations on the principles of dialogue, trust, mutual respect, the absence of double standards and non-interference in the affairs of sovereign states should be the norm, but now, in a world where there are so many problems, this has come to be seen as an achievement. “This can be found less and less in international relations, the politics of other countries,” he said.
Commission is a contribution to the development of relations
Maja Gojković believes that the work of the inter-parliamentary commission is “the right way to strengthen our relations”, and is also proud of the success that the parliaments of the two countries have achieved over the years of work.
“I would like to personally thank you for making an invaluable contribution to the development of our inter-parliamentary relations, that lead to the development of bilateral relations between our states,” said the Speaker of the National Assembly of Serbia.
“For two centuries of our diplomatic relations, we have always developed and strengthened our friendship, historical ties, and I am sure that this will continue,” Maja Gojković believes.
She expressed gratitude to Viacheslav Volodin for the selection of issues and topics of discussion at the Commission meeting. In particular, the signed inter-parliamentary agreements and agreements reached between the two countries will be also discussed.
”We have recently signed an agreement on cultural exchange, which is very important for us,“ Maja Gojković recalled. She is convinced that the agreements regarding free trade issues between Serbia and the Eurasian economic Union will be ratified before the end of the term of this convocation of the Parliament.
As she noted, the work of the Commission will also include the issue of combating the revision of history, in particular, the results of World War II. “We must address this issue together,” emphasized Maja Gojković.
“All our steps taken to bring the positions closer, to develop decisions, as well as to implement new formats were supported by you personally and by the members of the Assembly,” thanked Viacheslav Volodin.
“Languages are different, but we can understand each other if we want to”
Viacheslav Volodin noted complete mutual understanding in Russia-Serbia relations and the productive results of work of parliaments. He emphasized that the heads of states, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, give impetus to development of relations between countries. “We are doing our best to legally ensure the implementation of the agreements that are reached at the level of heads of state,” said Viacheslav Volodin.
“If our relations developed with every state that way, we would be very happy,” the Chairman of the State Duma stressed. In particular, mutual trade relations are increasing, as the bilateral trade has grown by almost 24% over the past year. “Russia is one of the three countries which have the largest trade turnover with Serbia. We rank first in exports of agricultural products,” he said.
”We are interested in developing our economic cooperation and also other areas, especially the energy sector,“ Maja Gojković stressed.
”Reciprocity is based on the principles of trust, openness, dialogue, the absence of double standards and, of course, great commonality between nations. When we talk about the development of our relations, we should understand that these are relations between fraternal peoples, where there are many similarities in history, culture, and religion,“ said Viacheslav Volodin.
”The languages are different, but we can understand each other if we want to,“ believes the Chairman of the State Duma.
