Moscow - Russian State Duma Chairman Sergei Naryshkin says he has given his consent to the leadership of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) to join the work of an Interparliamentary Liaison Group on Ukraine in Geneva in early October.
“How could I not have given my consent if I was the author of this idea?” Naryshkin said in an interview with Russian news agencies on Saturday, Sep. 13.
Naryshkin said OSCE PA President Ilkka Kanerva had proposed to him that he lead the Russian part of this task force. “I said: sure,” he said.
The OSCE PA fall session will take place in Geneva on Oct. 3-5.
The task force will include representatives of 12 countries, Naryshkin said. “As far as I know, Kanerva has asked the leaders of these countries’ parliaments to take part in this work – either speakers or individuals authorized by them and occupying a high position in the structure of their parliaments,” he said.
The Russian delegation at the OSCE PA session in Baku in early July proposed setting up such a task force within the assembly, and most delegates from other parliaments supported it, he said.
“I am grateful to Mr. Kanerva for the fact that he also actively supported us, is promoting this idea and making quite significant efforts,” he said.
Ukrainian parliamentarians were hesitating for a long time before joining this task force but then decided to join it. “Such a meeting [in Geneva] will take place, Naryshkin said.
It was reported earlier that the OSCE PA leadership had invited Naryshkin to take part in the work of the Interparliamentary Liaison Group on Ukraine in Geneva. “State Duma Chairman Sergei Naryshkin has received an invitation from OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva to take part in the work of the Interparliamentary Liaison Group on Ukraine to promote de-escalation on the ground and help the country overcome the crisis,” the Duma press service reported on Friday, Sep. 12.
