The meeting was opened by Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Iliyas Umakhanov.
Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachev and Member of the Senate of the French Parliament Gerard Longuet chaired a meeting of the cooperation groups between Russia’s Federation Council and the Senate of the French Republic.
The meeting was opened by Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council, member of the cooperation group with the Senate of France Iliyas Umakhanov. Mr Umakhanov said the visit of this important delegation of French senators was further evidence of the solid foundation for Russian-French relations.
“Although there are problematic issues on our bilateral agenda, it is important that there were never any interruptions in the political and parliamentary dialogue. The contacts between the respective committees of the Federation Council and the French parliament continue, and preparations are underway for the 20th meeting of the Association of European Senates in Paris. We welcome the ongoing development of interregional contacts and cultural ties, and humanitarian cooperation,” Iliyas Umakhanov said.
Gerard Longuet noted that the members of the delegation who arrived in Moscow advocate the development of strong ties between France and Russia. He conveyed a message from the President of the Senate of the French Republic, Gerard Larcher, to Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko, in which, according to Gerard Longuet, he expressed the hope that a Russian group would attend the meeting of the Association of European Senates in Paris.
According to Konstantin Kosachev, Russia and France are ready for faster rapprochement, but the so-called European solidarity is hindering this process. “We are patiently waiting for Europe to deal with its internal problems,” he stressed.
During further conversation, the parties considered issues of European development and Russia’s involvement in these processes, as well as topics relating to mutual understanding on religious and societal issues. A few dates were set for planned interparliamentary meetings.
The meeting was attended by members of the Federation Council group for cooperation with the Senate of France – Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Agriculture and Food Policy and Environmental Management Alexei Mayorov, First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov, Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy Valery Vasilyev, Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Andrei Klimov, members of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building Alexei Aleksandrov and Yelena Afanasyeva, members of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Oksana Buriko and Oleg Morozov, as well as representatives of the French diplomatic mission in Russia.