Geneva to hear Matviyenko speak about inadmissibility of sanctions against parliamentarians
NAIROBI. Oct 8 (Interfax) - Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko will urge the Inter-Parliamentary Union session in Geneva to declare the inadmissibility of any sanctions against parliamentarians.
"I will go to the Inter-Parliamentary Union session in Geneva on October 16. We want to urge the Inter-Parliamentary Union to declare the inadmissibility of imposing any sanctions on any parliamentarians, no matter what country they come from, and the inadmissibility of such measures as the restriction of the rights and freedoms of parliamentarians," Matviyenko told the Kenyan National Assembly head during her official visit to Kenya.
Russia views sanctions against parliamentarians as an act of political persecution for "political views disliked by someone," she said.
Matviyenko said she was unable to attend the Inter-Parliamentary Union session in New York as the United States imposed sanctions on her "just because our standpoint differs from the standpoint of Washington."
In the opinion of the Federation Council chairperson, the sanctions distort the very essence of parliamentarianism.
"The purpose of parliamentarians is to build up interaction, to maintain dialogue and to establish amicable relations with other countries. They cannot be prohibited from doing so by any restrictive measures," Matviyenko said.
