Chairman of the Political Council of the Opposition Platform – For Life party Viktor Medvedchuk and his colleagues – deputies of the Verkhovna Rada are expected to pay a visit to the State Duma. This was announced on Saturday, January 22, by the chairman of the lower house of the Russian parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin.
Thus, he commented on Medvedchuk’s statement that the creation of a friendship group between the parliaments of Russia and Ukraine would be an important step towards normalizing relations between the countries.
“We are waiting for Viktor Vladimirovich and his colleagues – deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, members of the friendship group, to visit the State Duma to discuss issues and develop decisions within the parliamentary dimension,” Volodin wrote on Telegram.
According to him, “this is the only right way.”
“We have said before and now we confirm that it is necessary to build relations between Russia and Ukraine on the principles of friendship, mutual respect, in the interests of the peoples of our countries,” the State Duma speaker concluded.
Earlier, in 2019, the Opposition Platform – For Life came up with the initiative to create a friendship group between the parliaments of Ukraine and Russia. However, the Verkhovna Rada of the 9th convocation refused to create such a group. Therefore, in November of the same year, at the initiative of the party, an inter-factional deputy association “Inter-Parliamentary Dialogue for Peace: Ukraine-Russia-Germany-France” was created.
On January 21 of this year, co-chairman of the party Yuriy Boyko said that the Ukrainian authorities need to stop “repeating the mantra about imminent entry into NATO” and start a direct dialogue with Moscow. Thus, he commented on the talks held that day between US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva.
On the same day in Moscow, Yevgeny Popov, a deputy from United Russia, was appointed coordinator of the group formed in the State Duma for relations with the Verkhovna Rada. He assured that the group would communicate not only with representatives of parliamentary parties, but also with non-parliamentary political forces. According to Popov, his colleagues have a desire to “raise up” relations with Ukraine, which are currently “buried in the mud.”
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
