Inter-Parliamentary Ties Promote Dialogue Between Russia, Europe - Official

The inter-parliamentary ties and the European political platforms enabled dialogue between Russia and the European countries in light of information wars between the two sides, the Russian upper house speaker said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The contacts on the sidelines of the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament, meetings of the Association of the European Senates as well as of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe confirm that the European countries start to recognize the need "to reestablish full-fledged relations with Russia," Matvienko explained.

"Amid an information war, launched against Russia, parliamentary diplomacy resources have become in some cases the only channel on the state level, which enables dialogue with various political forces, parliaments of foreign countries," Valentina Matvienko said at the closing of the upper house’s autumn session.

Since 2014, relations between Russia and the European Union deteriorated amid the crisis in Ukraine. Brussels, Washington and their allies have introduced several rounds of anti-Russia sanctions since Crimea became part of Russia in 2014 and over Moscow's alleged involvement in the Ukrainian conflict and as well as in the conflict in Syria.