Russian parliamentary delegation cancels plans to visit US to discuss Syria

Russian parliamentarians have refused to go to the United States for a meeting with American Congressmen over Syria, said Sergei Naryshkin, speaker of the State Duma, lower house of parliament. “I deeply regret about U.S. Congressmen’s refusal to meet the Russian parliamentary delegation to hold discussions on Syria,” Naryshkin said, adding, “The unwillingness to listen to the arguments at the inter-parliamentary level prove that the American partners realise the weak position.” “The United States got used to consider the key issues related to security in different world regions its own matter. But the current system of international law and the architecture of global security, including the U.N. Security Council, were being built long and meticulously after World War II and with the participation of the wolrd community,” Naryshkin said. “It is extremely dangerous to ignore the valuable institutions and the guarantees, which were built based on the lessons of the large-scale catastrophe of the 20th century and which were designed to defend the world of new wars and conflicts,” the Duma speaker said. On Monday, September 2, chairperson of the Federation Council, upper house of parliament, Valentina Matviyenko and speaker of the State Duma, lower house of parliament, Sergei Naryshkin addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin to convince parliamentarians of both countries to meet over the Syrian conflict. The Foreign Ministry has supported this idea. Speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress John Boehner refused to meet Russian parliamentarians. However, on Thursday, September 5, Senator Harry Reid expressed readiness to contribute to holding Russian-American parliamentary consultations, according to Federation Council deputy speaker Ilyas Umakhanov. State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Aleksei Pushkov said that "The State Duma took into account the fact that the speaker of the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress had refused to accept a delegation of the Russian Federal Assembly.”" Earlier this week, Sergei Zheleznyak, deputy speaker of the State Duma, lower house of Russia’s parliament, has announced that Russian lawmakers planned to meet with American counterparts. Russia’s delegation is expected to raise the question of possible aggression against Syria and speak about unacceptability of armed interference in other countries’ affairs at the G8 Parliamentary Speakers’ Meeting due to take place in London on September 6-7, 2013.