The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Volodymyr Rybak supports activation and broadening of the Ukrainian-Russian relations at the level of parliaments
11 April 2013, 17:10
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Volodymyr Rybak supports activation and broadening of the Ukrainian-Russian relations at the level of parliaments.
On Thursday, during the meeting with the Chairperson of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matviyenko in Saint Petersburg, Volodymyr Rybak noted that the beginning of the current year is characterized by active dialogue between our countries. “Fruitful nature of bilateral relations was once again reaffirmed during the meeting of the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and the President of Russia Vladimir Putin in March 2013,” he said.
“Unfortunately, due to different reasons, there is a pause in our inter-parliamentary dialogue, which should be filled,” said Volodymyr Rybak, adding that “in respect to difficult political processes inside the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, I could not pay an official visit to the Russian Federation at the invitation of the Head of the State Duma Sergey Naryshkin and had to postpone it”.
Volodymyr Rybak believes that holding of another 11th meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Commission on Cooperation between the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation in Dnipropetrovsk shall be a practical step towards intensification of the inter-parliamentary dialogue.
According to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada the activity of deputy friendship groups shall provide a significant impulse to activation of the inter-parliamentary Ukrainian-Russian cooperation. The deputy friendship group on the inter-parliamentary relations with the Russian Federation, including 156 people’s deputies, has been established in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Its structure and action plan for 2013 have been approved.
In her turn, Valentina Matviyenko stressed that inter-parliamentary cooperation of both countries should correspond to the level of the dialogue between our countries. Thereat, she emphasized Russia’s interest in expanding cooperation with Ukraine in different spheres, appreciating the increase of effectiveness of relations at regional level.
Volodymyr Rybak deems it necessary to take specific measures to strengthen cooperation between the parliaments of Ukraine and Russia in economic direction, considering the tendency towards decrease in bilateral goods exchange. The Chairperson of the Council of Federation claimed that her country is “interested in the development of trade relations”.
The Parties have also discussed the issue of optimal cooperation model between Ukraine and the Customs Union basing on the rules and requirements of the World Trade Organization.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada noted that the Ukrainian Party attaches great importance to the decision of the Ukrainian public organizations to establish the new union of the all-Russian level – the “Ukrainian Congress of Russia”. In this connection, he expressed hope that the Russian Party shall create conditions of support for the Ukrainian community in the Russian Federation. The Chairman off the Verkhovna Rada hopes also that registration process of the “Ukrainian Congress of Russia” shall be held in the due time with the assistance of the Russian judicial bodies.