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Belarusian MP contemplates alternatives for Belarus’ contacts with PACE

PACE. Photo courtesy of Reuters

MINSK, 30 March (BelTA) – Belarus has three interparliamentary organizations as alternatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Chairman of the International Affairs Commission of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Andrei Savinykh made the statement as he commented on PACE’s decision to suspend contacts with Belarusian authorities, BelTA has learned.

Andrei Savinykh said: “I think that with this decision the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has lost more than the Belarusian state has. We were ready for an open dialogue and for expressing one’s point of view. Nevertheless, it turned out to be too complicated for them. As a matter of principle it is a loss for the Parliamentary Assembly, not our loss. We’ve been cooperating with the Council of Europe to a greater extent recently. And the Republic of Belarus demonstrated a constructive approach in cooperation. We’ve acceded to the Council of Europe’s specialized conventions. For instance, those dealing with fight against cybercrime, with prisoner welfare, protection of kids against sexual exploitation, and other ones. Those were narrow fields where the Council of Europe’s experience was genuinely useful for us. We used it successfully in our lawmaking.”

The MP once again underlined the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe had lost objectivity. “The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is more of a political body, which regretfully is starting to demonstrate the position of superficial political maneuvering. They cannot afford certain pluralism of opinions and an open and honest discussion about existing problems. When I participated in a session of the political committee of the Parliamentary Assembly, I came under the impression that my presence was discomforting for certain members of this body,” Andrei Savinykh said.

The MP mentioned alternatives in the sphere of international cooperation. “We should keep in mind that the global world is crumbling. We are moving towards a multipolar world at an ever increasing pace. It envisages association of sovereign countries into major political, economic, and military blocs. We have such an integration body within the framework of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union, and within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. We have three interparliamentary organizations – the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, and the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly. I think they should become the foundation for an interparliamentary dialogue in the region,” Andrei Savinykh summarized.

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