Valentina Matvienko: We Make a Great Effort in IPA CIS to Create Unified Legal Space Across Commonwealth

In an exclusive interview with the TASS, Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council, Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko talked about the case when senators may be delegated to the upper chamber of parliament under the presidential quota, about the legal definition of the “self-isolation” concept, about the situation in the Republic of Belarus, the Kyrgyz Republic and Nagorny Karabakh.

At the beginning of the conversation, Valentina Matvienko commented on the first events of the autumn parliamentary session: the meeting of the senators with President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and the important personnel appointments. Valentina Matvienko called the meeting of the senators with the President a landmark event, and also noted that Vladimir Putin emphasized his unwavering respect for the parliament as the main democracy institution. She also recalled the serious renewal of the senators’ composition and highly appreciated the professionalism of the Federation Council members.

The Chairperson of the Federation Council also spoke about the prospects for the emergence of the new senators under the presidential quota. She said that according to this quota, up to 30 additional senators could come to the Federation Council, however, she also suggested that these positions should be filled gradually.

During the discussion of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Speaker of the Federation Council spoke about the legislative work related to the legal definition of the new terms that appeared in connection with the spread of coronavirus infection, such as "self-isolation", "restrictive measures", "mask regime" and "social distance". Valentina Matvienko noted that at the moment several Federation Council committees were working to ensure that such measures and restrictions are given legal definitions and a framework for their use.

The Chairperson of the Federation Council also commented on the recent events in the Republic of Belarus, the acute political crisis in the Kyrgyz Republic and the intensification of the conflict in Nagorny Karabakh.

Valentina Matvienko noted that these regions continue to experience the processes of gaining self-identity, and these processes are currently painful. She added that in a number of cases there was active intervention from the outside to imbalance the post-Soviet space and create instability around Russia. Valentina Matvienko also stressed that the Russian Federation has formed fraternal, strategic partnerships with practically all countries across the CIS.

The Speaker of the Federation Council stressed that within the framework of the IPA CIS, many efforts were made to create a unified legal space across the Commonwealth. In her opinion, the creation of a unified legal space is very important for citizens and business, and will also bring many other advantages.

Valentina Matvienko also said that she held telephone talks with the speakers of the parliaments of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia. According to Valentina Matvienko, there is only one way to immediately stop hostilities and, with the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group, sit down at the negotiating table.

Photo: http://council.gov.ru/