IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Political Issues and International Cooperation Approved Draft Provisions on Participation of Observers in IPA CIS Activities

The meeting of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Political Issues and International Cooperation took place in the Tavricheskiy Palace – the IPA CIS headquarters. The event was held in a mixed format: the members of the parliamentary delegations, who were unable to come to St. Petersburg due to the circumstances, as well as the IPA CIS Council Secretariat staff members, monitoring the presidential elections in the Republic of Tajikistan, joined the meeting via videoconferencing.

The event brought together the representatives of the parliaments of the Azerbaijan Republic, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as the Secretary General – Head of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat and his deputies – plenipotentiary representatives of the IPA CIS parliaments, other IPA CIS Council Secretariat staff members, researchers and experts.

Chairman of the Committee of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security Mukhtar Yerman chaired the meeting.

The members of the Commission elected Deputy Chairs of the Commission: Member of the Committee of the Milli Mejlis of the Azerbaijan Republic on Foreign and Inter-Parliamentary Relations Rasim Musabekov and Chair of the Committee of the Majlisi namoyandagon of the Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan on International Affairs, Public Associations and Information Saidmurod Fattokhzoda.

The meeting was focused on the Draft Provisions on the Participation of the Observers in the IPA CIS Activities. The participants of the meeting approved the document drafted by Chair of the Committee of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on International Affairs Konstantin Kosachev and decided to submit the Draft Provisions for the consideration of the IPA CIS Council.

The meeting participants discussed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the armed conflicts and terrorism. Chair of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on International Affairs Leonid Slutskiy presented a comprehensive report on the issue.

He noted that the peoples should unite in the face of this global threat and should not declare sanctions and restrictions, which were proved inefficient. He expressed confidence that the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly together with other inter-parliamentary organizations and parliaments would further continue its efforts to counter terrorism.

The issue of the COVID-19 pandemic was considered in the context of discussing the preparation of the Conference on Countering International Terrorism in 2021. Secretary of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Political Issues and International Cooperation, Head of the Department for International Relations of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat Maksimillian Selyutin noted that the pandemic could exacerbate terrorism threat at the time, when the world’s attention was shifted towards the fight against the new infection.

The agenda of the Commission also included the issues of the Inadmissibility of external interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states, the UN Virtual Counter-Terrorism Week (6-10 July 2020) and the participation of the IPA CIS Observer Team in observing the presidential elections in the Republic of Belarus (9 August 2020).