Go for action: Matvienko in Geneva called for an end to anti-Russian rhetoric

The Russian delegation does not face openly negative attitudes while working in Geneva at the events of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Its participants, who are currently working in Switzerland, told Izvestia about this. Despite the difficult international situation, the atmosphere remains constructive. However, there were still those who tried to accuse Moscow of fomenting the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine from the rostrum. In response to these statements, Valentina Matvienko invited all the speakers of the parliaments to personally come to Donbass and look at the sad results of the eight-year conflict. Experts called Matvienko's speech in Geneva a women's anti-war manifesto aimed at preventing World War III. Whether the work of the Federation Council will lead to a warming of Moscow's relations with the EU and how the number of women in parliaments is changing is in the Izvestia article.

Matvienko's statements in Switzerland are the main thing

Geneva has once again become the capital of diplomacy in the coming days: delegations from almost all over the world gathered in Switzerland to participate in a series of major events organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Russia was also invited.: The day before, a delegation led by a third person of the state, Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko, arrived in Geneva.

On July 28, the central point of the program for the Federation Council delegation was the participation in the XV Summit of women chairmen of parliaments. The list of speakers includes about 20 speakers who spoke on the topic "Women, peace and security 25 years later: remaining challenges and moving forward." In total, there are about 30 female heads of parliaments on the site. Valentina Matvienko came to the podium in the midst of the summit, having thus managed to evaluate most of the speeches of her colleagues.

Most of the speeches of female politicians concerned the development of "soft power", conflict resolution through dialogue and respect for each other. However, shortly before Matvienko's exit, the chairman of the Czech Chamber of Deputies, Marketa Pekarova Adamova, spoke from the podium. Much of her speech was devoted to Russia and the situation in Ukraine, which had "a significant impact on the rights of Ukrainian women and children." In her opinion, the special operation caused a humanitarian crisis in the region, "as a result of which millions of people were displaced."

The Speaker of the upper house took the opportunity and again tried to convey the Russian position to the European public. She recalled the events of 2014 and that it was Russia at that time that called for peace and a diplomatic solution to the internal Ukrainian conflict within the framework of the Minsk Agreements on all international platforms.

— Instead, for eight years, the Kiev regime shelled peaceful regions of Donbass and Novorossiya, killing women, children and the elderly: 14 thousand were killed during this time. Please come to Donbass! Look at the Alley of Angels, which is dedicated to the memory of these murdered children! Russia had to intervene to stop this bloodshed, to stop the killing of civilians," said the head of the Russian delegation.

At the end of her speech, Matvienko, addressing the audience and dozens of women speakers of parliaments, including a representative from the Czech Republic, called on "always to be honest, tell each other the truth, be guided by facts in their assessments and not blindly reproduce the anti—Russian rhetoric that is being waged as part of the information war declared by Russia."

It is possible that such rhetoric may be encountered tomorrow, as the Russian delegation's program for July 29 includes participation in the Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments. It will be attended by over 1,000 people and more than 100 heads of various government agencies, including from countries unfriendly to Russia.

Other topics raised by parliamentarians at the site included increasing the representation of women in science, diplomacy and engineering, and the Russian Federation has something to share here, Lilia Gumerova, a member of the Russian delegation in Geneva and chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture, told Izvestia.

— We have already come a long way. If we look at the figures, the representation of women in national parliaments has increased from 11% to 27% in 30 years. Speaking about how many women head the parliaments of the countries, this figure has increased from 10.5% to 23%. Of course, definitely, there is still something to strive for," she said.

What does Russia's invitation to the Geneva venue mean?

The red line in Valentina Matvienko's speech was an appeal to women politicians from different countries to join forces and prevent a new world war for the sake of future generations. However, political analysts doubt that the signals will be fully heard.

— You can say that it was such a women's anti-war manifesto. Although speakers of parliaments from different countries were probably happy to hear what Valentina Matvienko was saying, most of them probably wouldn't hear what was being said. <...> The Federation Council also annually adopts several statements, which are sent to all parliaments of the world, and they relate to the injustice that our country is fighting. But Europe is not taking reciprocal steps in this sense," says political analyst Pavel Sklyanchuk.

In general, the speech of the speaker of the upper house in Europe, and at such a prestigious venue, can be assessed as a positive moment, experts say. Earlier, due to the fact that the Russian delegation was basically deprived of the right to speak, the Russian Federation withdrew from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Now there is a chance to try once again to convey to its politicians the Russian position on international issues, although there are no great hopes for changes in Europe yet, Pavel Sklyanchuk believes. Alexey Zudin, a senior lecturer at MGIMO in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, shares this opinion: nevertheless, such an invitation to participate should not be considered as a direct willingness of the EU to engage in dialogue with the Russian Federation, he believes.

— I would evaluate this fact quite cautiously. But this is a positive fact, it shows that the polarization and confrontation between Russia and Europe as an integral part of the West has not gone too far yet, and there are still some opportunities for dialogue and contacts," Alexey Zudin told Izvestia.

Considerable interest has been shown in the representatives of Russia, and especially in Valentina Matvienko, the senators say.

— As soon as Valentina Ivanovna entered the hall, there was a huge interest from the entire foreign press and not only. Personally, the Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Martin Chungong, met her and had a very warm meeting. There was also interest from the chairmen of parliaments of different countries, with whom Russia, personally, Valentina Ivanovna, has warm, businesslike relations. Despite such a difficult international situation, the atmosphere here is friendly, working, and constructive. We can listen to different points of view here, and we certainly don't feel any disdain for our delegation," Lilia Gumerova told Izvestia.

In addition to meeting with Martin Chungong, the Russian speaker had a brief conversation with Maya Rinicker, Chairman of the National Council of the Federal Assembly of the Swiss Confederation. However, it is still unknown what the heads of parliaments managed to negotiate.

On the same day, Valentina Matvienko had full-fledged bilateral talks. In particular, with the head of the Interparliamentary Union (IPU), Tulia Exxon, the Speaker of the Federation Council discussed the high representation at the forums, which directly speaks to the importance of interparliamentary cooperation in modern conditions. Speaking with Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa Angela Didiza and Chairman of the Great State Hural of Mongolia Dashzegwiyn Amarbayasgalan Matvienko, Matvienko focused on the bilateral agenda: humanitarian cooperation and an increase in educational quotas were discussed with the African country, and the exchange of legislative experience and mutual visits of parliamentary delegations with the Asian country.