Russian Federation Council delegation planning to meet with French Senate members in Paris
MOSCOW. Feb 11 (Interfax) - Members of the Russian Federation Council belonging to a group on relations with the French Senate plan to visit Paris on March 9-11, says Konstantin Kosachyov, head of the Federation Council's international affairs committee.
"I'd like to share our plans with you. The group on relations with the Senate of the French National Assembly is going to Paris. We plan to make this trip on March 9-11," Kosachyov said at a meeting with French Ambassador to Russia Jean-Maurice Ripert.
The reason for the trip is a report dealing with relations with Russia, as drawn up by the Senate's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces, he said.
Russia has translated the report into Russian, he said.
"It was really interesting for us to see that there are different viewpoints and different approaches in France's National Assembly, just as it should be in democratic lawmaking assemblies," he said.
Russia is putting together a very representative delegation for the trip, which will include members of various Federation Council committees so as to make sure that the issues addressed in the report are discussed in a substantive manner, including security in Europe, regional conflicts, the situation in Ukraine, and prospects of cooperation between Russia and France in the trade-economic and other areas, including the fight against terrorism, he said.
"We are seriously preparing for this joint work in a roundtable format," Kosachyov said.
The French ambassador handed Kosachyov an official invitation to Russian Federation Council members to attend the hearings.