At the same time, Senator Dzhabarov noted that the OSCE kept up its hostile political rhetoric with regard to the Russian Federation.
A Federation Council delegation led by First Deputy Chair of the Committee on Foreign l Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov attended the 28th summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Luxembourg.
The delegation included First Deputy Chair of the Committee on the Budget and Financial Markets Nikolai Zhuravlyov, Deputy Chair of the Committee on the House Rules and Parliamentary Governance Sergei Mamedov, Deputy Chair of the Committee on Agriculture and Food Policy and Environmental Management Irina Gekht, and member of the Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building Lyudmila Narusova. The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Committee on Political Affairs and Security discussed the situation in Ukraine and Georgia. A number of deputies of national parliaments had grievances regarding Russia’s policy vis-à-vis these countries.
“We said that Russia had a vested interest in Ukraine overcoming its political and economic crisis. Contrary to accusations that were voiced here, we are not a party to the internal Ukrainian conflict and cannot bear responsibility for the events in southeastern Ukraine,” Vladimir Dzhabarov said.
According to him, it was regrettable that the Committee had turned down the Russian amendments to a resolution on Eastern Ukraine and Crimea, which were meant to temper its anti-Russia invectives. The resolution was discussed as an additional item to the Main Resolution. “Under US MPs’ pressure and with support from deputies from Poland, the Baltic states, Canada and the UK, it also stymied Russian amendments to the additional item on the state of affairs in the field of security and human rights in Abkhazia, Georgia and South Ossetia.”
It must be admitted that the Assembly keeps up the same old negative rhetoric that is full of accusations against Russia, Vladimir Dzhabarov stressed. At the same time, he assured his audience that the Russian delegation was open to constructive interaction on all matters concerning OSCE activities. “We are confident that a respectful dialogue and efforts to promote mutually beneficial cooperation alone can help the OSCE countries to give up confrontation and return back to addressing the fundamental security issues in the Euro-Atlantic region and Eurasia.”
He also said that the draft main resolution approved by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Committee on Political Affairs and Security called on the US and Russia to settle their differences related to the INF Treaty through talks and refrain from developing missile systems that represent a breach of the treaty. “The resolution also calls on parties to conflicts to enter into negotiations in good faith to achieve peace, respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the borders of Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova.”
First Deputy Chair of the Committee on the Budget and Financial Markets Nikolai Zhuravlyov attended a meeting of the OSCE PA Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment.
“We and our foreign colleagues are of the same opinion on the need to adopt consolidated decisions to address economic and environmental challenges, including as regards food and energy security problems and better regulation of financial organisations. We must promote cooperation to fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism, among other things. Requiring a special focus are migration problems and a policy to eradicate intolerance and xenophobia in society,” he pointed out.
According to him, yet another important topic was the digitalisation of the economy, its impact on other spheres of life, and related legislative changes. “For our part, we are working proactively in this sphere. We are drafting legislation to legalise digital financial assets and regulate crowdfunding mechanisms. We are also focusing on cybersecurity as well as the introduction of modern financial technology.”