The Head of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with the Russian Federation in the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Igor Braunovic and the PFG members met with the member of the Committee on International Affairs and Head of the Group for cooperation with the National Assembly in the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Yelena Afanasyeva.
In the course of the meeting, the Head of the PFG with Russia, Igor Braunovic, expressed his satisfaction with the meeting and emphasised the importance of promoting meetings between delegations of the two parliaments in order to strengthen cooperation between the brotherly states. He particularly emphasised the clear desire evident in Serbia to further strengthen friendly relations with Russia, as proved by the fact that the PFG with the Russian Federation with its 99 members is one of the largest PFGs in the National Assembly.
Afanasyeva particularly emphasised the importance of strengthening relations between the two peoples, stressing the importance of connecting with each other, especially the younger generations.
"We are interested in people who are close to us by blood. The members of the Parliamentary Friendship Group in the State Duma expect intensive and meaningful cooperation with their colleagues in Serbia. That is precisely why I believe it is very important to dedicate ourselves to connecting young people — because they are the bearers of the future of our relations," Afanasyeva said.
She also conveyed the Russian Federation's interest in further cooperation with the Republic of Serbia, and informed those present that the Federation Council had invited the two parliaments to cooperate within the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States, so that Serbia could participate as an observer in the elections in the member states of the Union.
The officials also spoke of the celebration of the Day of Victory over Fascism, held on 9 May in Moscow, emphasising the importance of preserving historical memory. In this context, they concluded that the visit of the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, to Moscow represents a confirmation of the fraternal relations and strong ties between the two peoples and states.
Braunovic emphasized that Serbia's eyes are on the Russian Federation when it comes to supporting the protection of territorial integrity and the preservation of Orthodoxy in Kosovo=Metohija, and he received confirmation from Afanasyeva that Serbia can count on Russia's support in this regard.
The meeting was also attended by MPs Zagorka Aleksic, Milija Miletic, Mitar Kovac, Ugljesa Mrdic and Ivana Stankovic, who presented proposals for concretising steps aimed at improving cooperation between the two delegations at the level of parliamentary friendship groups, including concrete actions and initiatives towards further building interparliamentary cooperation, primarily through intensification of parliamentary visits.
