Parliamentary Diplomacy Becomes Crucial Resource for Close Dialogue on Pressing Matters of International Agenda, Says Valentina Matvienko
15 October 2019
Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council Valentina Matvienko addressed the participants of the 141st IPU Assembly, which is taking place in Belgrade (Republic of Serbia) these days.
The Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council noted that the IPU turned 130 years the current year. “This is an all-time high age for the international organization. The IPU foundation day will forever be written into history of the international community as the International Day of Parliamentarism, established by the UN”.
According to Valentina Matvienko, one of the crucial factors for strengthening international order is the regional cooperation, where the parliamentary dimension plays an important role. “Dozens of regional parliamentary structures have been created in the world nowadays. Namely, the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly operates across the CIS, uniting the parliaments of the ten countries”, mentioned Valentina Matvienko and reminded that the IPA CIS was an associate member of the IPU and actively cooperated with many parliamentary institutions and partners from all over the world.
Valentina Matvienko also focused on the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, which will be celebrated the next year. The IPA CIS Chairperson noted with regret that the world was increasingly facing the attempts to rewrite the history and reduce the role of the Soviet Union, which had made a decisive contribution to the victory over fascism.
“Blatant politicization of historical events inevitably leads to increased tensions in international relations, and creates opportunity for the reappearance of neo-Nazism and radicalism. The followers of this villainous ideology without resistance and condemnation openly organize torchlight processions with fascist symbols”. In this regard, Valentina Matvienko informed the Assembly that the Russian Federation proposed to recognize the Victory over Nazism in World War II as the World Heritage, and the monuments to the fighters in all countries as the World Memorial to Humanity. The Chairman of the IPA CIS Council called on her colleagues to join this movement and implement this most important initiative.
The IPA CIS, which is also presented at the 141st IPU Assembly by its Secretary General Dmitriy Kobitskiy and his Deputy, Plenipotentiary Representative of Milli Mejlis of the Azerbaijan Republic Aidyn Jafarov, is planning several events and activities to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War.
