On Sunday,
October 1, a round table discussion on the topic “Security for all: position of the parliaments” was held as part of the events of the First International
Parliamentary Conference “Russia — Latin America”. Parliamentarians from Latin
America and the Caribbean region, their Russian colleagues, as well as experts,
public figures, and diplomats took part in the discussion.
“In March 2023, the President of the Russian Federation approved a foreign policy strategy. And one of the priorities is cooperation on a mutually beneficial basis with Latin American countries. Security issues are key issues today, they are important for the whole world,” emphasized the Deputy Chairwoman of the State Duma Irina Yarovaya
Yarovaya 
Irina Anatolievna in her speech.
She noted the special importance for Russia of cooperation with those countries in the region, where the United States of America and its allies are trying to interfere in the internal affairs.
Countering activities of the Pentagon's biological laboratories
The Deputy Chairwoman of the State Duma told the round table participants about the results of the work of the Parliamentary Commission on Investigation into the Activities of the US Biological Laboratories in Ukraine, as she was the Co-Chair of the Commission.
“We propose to use
the format of bilateral memorandums on biological safety issues. In addition,
we offer you direct, constant cooperation with the Commission, which was
created at the initiative of the Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav 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)
in the parliament, on the issues of biological safety,” she said at the round
table.
Irina Yarovaya also proposed to cooperate at the United Nations under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (BTWC), as well as within the BRICS format.
In turn, the parliamentarians from Latin American countries thanked Russia for the support and assistance provided during the COVID pandemic. Thus, the head of the Argentine public organization “Union for the Human Right to Information” Nestor Picone said: “I would like to express gratitude to the Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Argentina became one of the first countries that received a vaccine against COVID-19.”
Countering US interference in internal affairs
“Nicaragua, like many other countries, was a victim of invasions and robbery by the Yankee imperialists and their allies. They have impoverished our people by destabilizing, financing terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking and arms trafficking,” said Filiberto Jacinto Rodríguez López, Chairman of the Committee on Peace, Defence, Internal Affairs and Human Rights of the National Assembly of the Republic of Nicaragua.
He also said that Nicaraguan parliamentarians had recently adopted two declarations condemning the supply of weapons by the US authorities to Ukraine, as well as US biological terrorism against Russia.
The Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba José Luis Toledo Santander recalled that “Cuban society has been living under a monstrous blockade by the United States and its allies for 70 years, and they are trying to destroy our country.”
The Cuban parliamentarian urged to join efforts to counter “the fake news epidemic that the world has to deal with.”
The Deputy
Chairman of the State Duma Petr Tolstoy
Petr Olegovich
also emphasized the importance of ensuring cybersecurity in his speech. “Today, without the development of cybersecurity, it is impossible to imagine the development of the IT industry
in our countries. This is also a serious issue for Latin America,” he said.
The Chairman of the Committee on Security and Corruption Control Vasily Piskarev
Piskarev 
Vasily Ivanovich invited Latin American colleagues to more actively exchange experience at the level of relevant committees and harmonize legislations to counter foreign interference more effectively.
According to the member of the State Duma, the United States of America and its NATO allies “are training militants, organizing sabotage and political assassinations, including terrorist attacks against civilians, our journalists, who told the truth about the atrocities of the Ukrainian regime.”
“That means that the United States and its allies use terrorist, extremist and neo-Nazi criminal organizations as a tool of foreign policy,” emphasized Vasily Piskarev.
The member of the Senate (2007–2011) and the Chamber of Deputies (2011–2015) of the Congress of Argentina Eric Calcagno condemned the US sanctions policy and called on the world countries to “reach a document to condemn the blockades, their inconsistency and illegitimacy.” “This should be adopted by all countries,” stressed the parliamentarian.
The member of the Legislative Assembly of Buenos Aires (2013–2017) José Cruz Campagnoli condemned the “war waged by NATO against the Russian Federation.” “The agreements reached after the collapse of the USSR and the Minsk agreements were not fulfilled by NATO, and that is why the conflict began,” he said. “This war that the United States and NATO started, it is important for us that they will lose,” emphasized José Cruz Campagnoli and noted the importance of building a multipolar world.
“We need more equality and balance. We need global tolerance towards Latin America. These countries cannot be just looked down upon; they are not the “underbelly” of the United States,” said the member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Ecuador Leonardo Renato Berrezueta Carrión.
Protection of children's rights
The Deputy Chairwoman
of the State Duma Anna Kuznetsova
Anna Yurievna
told about the activity of the Parliamentary
Commission on Investigation of the Crimes Committed by the Kiev regime Against
Minors.
“According to the information we received, more than 300 children were killed and more than 1 thousand children were injured. According to our data, more than 114 thousand children were affected by the Kiev aggression,” she said.
Anna Kuznetsova also noted the great experience of Latin American countries in protecting children from recruitment; she proposed to continue to join the efforts of parliamentarians from the Russian Federation and the countries of Latin America on that issue.
On September 29 — October 2, the First International Parliamentary Conference
“Russia – Latin America” is being held in Moscow at the initiative of the State
Duma. More than 200 participants, including parliamentarians from different
countries of Latin America and the Caribbean Region, representatives of the expert community, public figures and diplomats are expected to take part in the Conference. They plan to discuss with their Russian colleagues relevant issues
of the international parliamentary agenda.
On Friday, September 29, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin addressed the Conference participants.
The following round tables will be held as part of the events of the Conference:
- Equal and mutually beneficial economic cooperation: role of the parliaments
- Development of humanitarian ties between Russia and Latin America: contribution of the parliaments
- Just multipolar world: role of the parliamentary diplomacy
- Security for all: position of the parliaments
On October 2, the plenary session of the International Parliamentary Conference “Russia – Latin America” will be held at the State Duma (the Pillar Hall of the House of the Unions) on the topic “Cooperation for a just world for all”.
