The events were held at the Assembly headquarters in St Petersburg.
Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev chaired a meeting of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly Standing Commission on Political Issues and International Cooperation and was appointed Deputy Chair of the Commission.
Konstantin Kosachev delivered remarks on the role of parliaments in shaping the architecture of Eurasian security, including initiatives by Russia and Belarus.
The Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council stressed that the OSCE and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly were in deep crisis. In his view, Eurasia lacks unifying regulatory and institutional frameworks that would allow for collective solutions to common security challenges. He noted that, in this context, in 2022, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko proposed the creation of a high-level discussion platform in Minsk. “As a result, since 2023 the Minsk Conference on Security has been held annually to discuss prospects for building a system of Eurasian security amid the world order crisis.”
Russia has strongly supported Belarusian initiatives, Konstantin Kosachev added. “In 2024, the President of the Russian Federation put forward the idea of forming a new architecture of Eurasian security which involves building horizontal links between existing Eurasian institutions such as the CIS, the CSTO, the SCO, and other cooperation entities in the Middle East and Asia.”
The Deputy Speaker made it clear that the concept of future Eurasian security architecture was aimed at creating a dialogue mechanism for preventing conflicts and strengthening confidence-building measures, including the participation of Europeans in future deals. “It is also necessary to give substantive content to the principle of equal and indivisible security in international law, which has remained undeveloped since the 1975 Helsinki Conference, as well as to mutual treaty-based security guarantees.”
“The President has approved the Russian concept for forming a security architecture, which also envisages a parliamentary dimension. We consider it important to discuss this topic at the platforms of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly, the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly,” Konstantin Kosachev emphasised.
The Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council also reported on the implementation of the cultural and educational project, Memory Train, in 2026. “This year our project initiated by the Chairs of the Federation Council and the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus and held under the auspices of the Union State will mark its fifth anniversary. It involves 1,000 direct participants, as well as their families, friends, and classmates.”
According to him, in 2026 the route will include 13 cities eight of which in the Republic of Belarus and five in the Russian Federation. “We have fully formed the youth crew of the train representing descendants of the peoples who defeated Nazism from all former Soviet republics and countries of the Allied coalition. We are proud to give our children the opportunity to commemorate their ancestors and to witness firsthand the horrifying nature of Nazism and the strong spirit of their great-grandfathers.”
The members of the Standing Commission also discussed the humanitarian situation in the Middle East, compliance with international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians during hostilities, as well as the outcomes of several international parliamentary organisation events. Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin and First Deputy Chair of the same Committee Vladimir Dzhabarov took part in the discussion.
Member of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security Krym Kazanokov participated in a meeting of the Joint Commission under the CIS IPA on harmonising legislation in the field of security and countering new challenges and threats, as well as in the work of standing commissions on defence and security. In particular, discussions covered draft Recommendations on improving national legislation, international treaties, and other legal acts in the field of deradicalisation, as well as Recommendations on regulatory frameworks governing the use of personal mobility devices by motorists. The Joint Commission also discussed the improvement of CIS model legislation in the implementation of the Programme of Cooperation of CIS Member States in Strengthening Border Security at External Borders for 2026–2030.
A session of the CIS Youth Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Member States was held at the CIS IPA headquarters.
Member of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy Sergey Karyakin presented to the CIS YIPA participants the project titled “Chess Diplomacy” as an instrument of international youth cooperation. According to him, the project of the Moscow Region Chess Federation and the Sergey Karyakin Chess School is aimed at strengthening humanitarian cooperation. “Memoranda of cooperation have been signed with more than 20 chess federations from countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the CIS. Seventeen chess clubs have been opened and equipped in Russia Houses abroad, and classes, meetings, and cultural programmes are now held there.”
In Sergey Karyakin’s view, chess is an effective tool for developing the intellectual potential of young people and strengthening international cooperation. “It seamlessly combines educational, cultural, and communicative functions, which makes this sport truly unique.”
The senator is convinced that the intellectual and humanitarian development of youth is the foundation of a sustainable future for CIS member states. “In an era of global change and strengthened humanitarian cooperation, the younger generation carries the mission of dialogue, mutual understanding, and trust between our countries. Chess rightfully occupies an important place in the cultural and educational space of the Commonwealth countries,” Sergey Karyakin said. The parliamentarian proposed considering adaptation and expansion of the Chess Diplomacy project across the CIS space.