Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko met with Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Mustafa Sentop.
During the Russian delegation’s official visit to the Turkish Republic, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko met with Mustafa Sentop, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the country’s parliament.
“Over the past three years, our interparliamentary cooperation has intensified, gained new momentum and new formats,” Matvienko said. “We cannot work in a different way as it is our countries’ presidents who set the course and the pace of Russian-Turkish relations.”
The parliaments must contribute to creating a favourable environment for the development and deepening of economic, investment, humanitarian, cultural and educational cooperation between the two countries, she said.
“It is also important to develop the legal framework,” the Federation Council Speaker noted. “We can agree to develop common approaches to implementing the agreements reached at the level of the countries’ leaders.”
It is necessary to strengthen the foundation of Russian-Turkish relations by involving as many citizens of both countries, non-governmental and non-profit organisations, civil society institutions and representatives of the education and culture spheres as possible – everyone who creates the atmosphere of friendship and trust between Russia and Turkey, Matvienko said.
The Federation Council Speaker took note of the importance of the trilateral Russia-Turkey- Iran interparliamentary meeting held in April 2019 in Moscow. “Parliamentary cooperation of this kind serves as a good platform for discussing the situation in Syria and searching for solutions,” Matvienko said. “These are real steps towards strengthening parliamentary diplomacy.”
She also noted the rich history of Turkey’s Grand National Assembly. “The first Speaker of the Grand National Assembly was Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder and the first president of the Turkish Republic, who is considered to be our country’s great friend in Russia.”
Matvienko suggested considering the possibility of hosting joint events to remind the younger generation about the great pages in the history of Russian-Turkish relations.
Russia is a key partner for Turkey, Mustafa Sentop noted, pointing out the importance of actively developing relations between the countries. “We are determined to continue strengthening and expanding them in the future as well,” he said.
While speaking about the 100th anniversary of the Turkish parliament, Mr Sentop invited Valentina Matvienko to attend the celebrations that will be held in Turkey in April 2020.
The meeting was also attended by Deputy Federation Council Speaker Iliyas Umakhanov, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachyov, Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Alexander Babakov, Member of the Federation Council Committee on House Rules and Parliamentary Governance and Head of the Federation Council Cooperation Group with the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Murat Khapsirokov, Member of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture Olga Khokhlova, Chair of the Krasnodar Territory Legislative Assembly Yury Burlachko and Chair of the Rostov Region Legislative Assembly Alexander Ishchenko.
Today, Valentina Matvienko visited the Anıtkabir memorial complex, laid a wreath in the mausoleum of the Republic of Turkey founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, left an entry in the distinguished visitors’ book, and went to the War of Independence Museum.