The head of the State Duma’s international affairs committee, Leonid Slutsky, expects to improve relations between Russia and Estonia and calls for intensifying bilateral inter-parliamentary cooperation between the two countries.
“If we talk about our bilateral relations, I will express a timid hope that they, perhaps, are now slowly moving towards adjustment,” Leonid Slutsky told reporters on Monday, February 27, BNS reports with reference to Interfax.
He noted that during contacts with Estonian parliamentarians, it is necessary to look for common points, not points of difference between the two countries, and possibly hold joint meetings of our profile committees, exchange delegations.
“At the same time, no matter what our sympathies for each other and, perhaps, similar, if not identical, positions on some issues on the international agenda, we continue to be unsettled by such things as the existence of the Museum of Occupation in Tallinn , as non-citizens, as well as in Latvia, there is no such term in international law, “he said.
All these issues, he said, should be discussed, meet.
Meanwhile, as a result of his visit to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly session, Russian parliamentarians came to the conclusion that Moscow’s position is gaining more and more understanding in the parliamentary circles of Europe and the United States. However, there are those who criticize Moscow, primarily Ukraine and the Baltic countries. Against this background, the prospects for ratifying the border treaty between Russia and Estonia remain vague, the “Current Camera” reported.
“The [State Duma of the Russian Federation – note. Ed.] work on this important dossier did not stop. And I think that in the foreseeable future this file has a chance to reach ratification, “Slutsky said.