Valentina Matvienko: We Are Open to Dialogue With Council of Europe

Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council Valentina Matvienko held a meeting with Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić.

Before the meeting, the participants attended the exhibition “75 Years of the United Nations” opened in the upper house of the parliament. The exhibition shows the significant role of the USSR in the establishment of the UN.

During the conversation, Valentina Matvienko noted that Russian senators took an active part in the work of the Council of Europe institutions, in particular, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. “Russia has been a member of the Council of Europe for almost a quarter of a century. We highly appreciate our participation in the work of the organization’s institutions, we have learned a lot and have significantly modernized our legislation.” – she said noting that Russia had already joined 67 legislative acts and 15 more were under development.

The Speaker of the Federation Council also expressed the hope that the visit of Marija Pejčinović Burić to Moscow would help to ensure that the confrontation period in the Council of Europe, associated with attempts to illegally deprive of the powers the Russian delegation in the PACE would be finally overcome.

According to the press-service of the upper house, Valentina Matvienko stressed that the number of challenges for Europe was growing and it was necessary to find a joint response to new threats.

Speaker of the Federation Council also commended the cooperation with Council of Europe institutions in the field of protecting women’s rights within the Program of Russia and the Council of Europe to Support the National Action Strategy for Women (2017–2022), and invited Marija Pejčinović Burić to take part in the Third Women’s Eurasian Forum to be held in St. Petersburg in 2021.

In her turn, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe noted that the existing difficulties were easier to overcome together.

Photo: http://council.gov.ru/events/news/120719/