Egypt working hard to provide safety for Russian tourists - Pushkov
CAIRO. Jan 26 (Interfax) - The Egyptian authorities are doing all they can to provide safety for Russian tourists, said Alexei Pushkov, head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs.
"The talks did not focus solely on flights resumption, though this topic is very important to Egypt, and it claims to be doing everything to maximize security so that Russia does not have to worry about its citizens when they come to Egypt," Pushkov told reporters on Tuesday after talks between Russian parliamentarians led by Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin and members of the Egyptian House of Representatives.
Counter-terrorism is another important topic which was raised at previous meetings, he said. It is of great importance to Egypt because this country has been fighting terrorists on its soil, he said.
"The Syrian peace process is another topic at our talks," Pushkov said.
Egypt is a key Middle Eastern country, and its approaches to the Syrian peace process largely coincide with Russia's, in particular, in that it is necessary to look for political methods of resolving the issue, while fighting ISIL (a terrorist organization banned in Russia) militarily.
Furthermore, at the meetings both sides touched on the subject of industrial cooperation and bilateral investment, cooperation in the field of science, and broadening bilateral trade, Pushkov said.
"Today the chairman of the Egyptian parliament stressed that Egypt remembers the huge aid the Soviet Union gave this country during the difficult 1950s-1960s. It is not forgotten and remains ingrained in the psyche of the Egyptian political class," the Duma committee chairman said.
This aspect can be seen as a psychological base for restoring the Russian-Egyptian relationship that was lost for various reasons in the 1980s-1990s, he said.
The Russian parliament will actively cooperate with Egyptian counterparts, in particular, the international affairs committee will soon invite the head of the Egyptian parliamentary committee on international affairs to visit Moscow, Pushkov said.
At the meetings the parties also discussed ratification of a Russian-Egyptian strategic partnership agreement which was signed on June 23, 2009, but never ratified by either party because of the escalation of the domestic situation in Egypt.
"For its part, our parliament and the parliament of Egypt will do their utmost to support the determination of the two countries' leaders to develop our relations," Pushkov said.
