The Federation Council held a roundtable discussion The Charter of Paris for a New Europe: An anniversary of frustrated hopes.
Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachev held a roundtable discussion via videoconference The Charter of Paris for a New Europe: An anniversary of frustrated hopes.
The event was attended by First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Sergei Kislyak, First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture Grigory Karasin, deputy chairs of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Bair Zhamsuyev and Vladimir Lukin, members of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Yelena Afanaseva, Andrei Klimov, Alexander Karelin and Vadim Dengin.
“Many ideas and provisions of the Charter of Paris for a New Europe have not lost their substance in the 30 years of its existence,” Konstantin Kosachev noted.
However, he pointed out that the hopes to decrease the level of confrontation were in vain. On the contrary, relations among European countries as well as between Russia and Europe are losing ground. According to the senator, Russia is ready to go back to the spirit and the letter of that document even though some of the OSCE participants are “uncomfortable” about some of the items in the Charter.
Konstantin Kosachev proposed to discuss whether there are prospects for revisiting the ideas stated in the Charter, the role of NATO and other organisations within the European security architecture, as well as a search for pragmatic ways to restore confidence and move forward.
Andrei Klimov noted during the discussion that under the current historical conditions Russia should continue to pursue its drive to enhance its state sovereignty and make the united voice of Russia and its allies and friends sound more confident. The senator advocated an active dialogue with European Parliament deputies.
Vladimir Lukin feels it is necessary to restore the atmosphere of trust with the Europeans, including on the parliamentary track.
Taking part in the discussion were also Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Grushko, Director of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexei Gromyko, Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council Andrei Kortunov, Deputy Director and Head of the Centre for Comparative Socio-Economic and Political Studies at the Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations Irina Semenenko, and representatives of the academic and expert communities.