The Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council addressed the General Debate at the 151st IPU Assembly in Geneva, which focused on Upholding Humanitarian Norms and Supporting Humanitarian Action in Times of Crisis.
Addressing the participants, Konstantin Kosachev stated that, in the wake of the unprecedented human losses of the Second World War, our country played an active role in developing the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. However, as the senator noted, the world has not become a safer place in the intervening 80 years. “Our allies in the anti-Hitler coalition – France and Great Britain – subsequently supported, as part of NATO, both neo-Nazism and discrimination against Russian-speaking populations in the Baltic states and Ukraine.”
“Western countries’ disregard for the rights of Russians and Russian-speaking populations is the root cause of today’s geopolitical crisis, which we seek to resolve through diplomacy,” Konstantin Kosachev asserted.
Highlighting the need to support humanitarian action through parliamentary channels, the senator explained that Russia plans to adopt a federal law on the legal status of the Russian Red Cross this year. The law is designed to expand the organisation’s capacity to respond to humanitarian crises, including those abroad.
In his remarks, the parliamentarian called on legislatures worldwide to promote the implementation of humanitarian norms in national legislation and law enforcement practices. “Furthermore, it is necessary to extend international rules of warfare to military blocs and alliances, regardless of their legal status, and to establish criminal liability for violations of the Geneva Conventions.”
Concluding his address, the Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council responded to criticisms levelled against Russia earlier from the podium by the Ukrainian delegation.
A bilateral meeting between Konstantin Kosachev and Hamid Reza Haji Babaei, the Deputy Speaker of Iran’s Islamic Consultative Assembly, also took place on the sidelines of the 151st IPU Assembly.
The Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council noted the consistent frequency of interparliamentary contacts between Russia and Iran.
The participants exchanged views on expanding relations between Russia and Iran under the framework of the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries, which entered into force on 2 October 2025. They also discussed developments in the Middle East, including the Sharm el-Sheikh summit declaration. The Iranian side briefed the participants on the situation surrounding the Iranian nuclear programme.
At the end of the meeting, the Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council proposed enhancing cooperation between the IPU delegations in the BRICS+ format.