More than 500 delegates from 100 countries took part in the discussions, including Augusta Montaruli, the Fratelli d`italia MP, and Tiberio Graziani, the chairman of Vision & the Global Trends platform. They told the Sputnik Italy about what Giuseppe Conte, the new Italian Prime Minister told the Senate yesterday on the need to abolish anti-Russian sanctions with Tiberio Graziani.
Tiberio Graziani: This forum was organized by Vyacheslav Volodin, the Chairman of the RF State Duma. Vladimir Putin was the first to speak. He stated that the forum should become a regular event. The Kremlin wants to develop ties between different countries’ people and Parliaments.
Sputnik: What are the goals of interparliamentary cooperation?
Tiberio Graziani: We want different countries’ MPs to be able to learn something new from discussions with their counterparts, to find ways to include in in their own bills. This would be a real success, as we are all moving towards a multi-polar world, but you need to remember that each nation has its own cultural characteristics. This would help improve relations between peoples and any country’s foreign policy.
READ MORE: New Italian PM Conte Backs Lifting Anti-Russia Sanctions
Sputnik: What do you do you think of the statement that Giuseppe Conte, the Italian Prime Minister, once again made about the need to lift the anti-Russian sanctions?
Tiberio Graziani: This is a very important statement, it fully reflects the right-left government’s strategies, on which they’ve been working hard throughout the 90 days of the crisis. Prime Minister Conte recalled this in his address to the Senate, and the Senate got it. Now Conte needs to move from rhetoric to real action. However, the first statements show that the government is already beginning to postpone the implementation of some paragraphs of the treaty not related to foreign policy. The flat tax introduction, for example, will be implemented within two years. The main thing for us is not to have a similar issue regarding sanctions, especially since it’s hard for Italy to unilaterally lift them. Nevertheless, I believe that it is this government that will be able to press hard on Brussels and become the pioneer in EU sanctions-lifting. At least, we hope so here in Italy.
Augusta Montaruli: The discussions that we had were very informative and gave food for thought. I want to note that there were lots of African delegations at the forum. The discussions helped Italians establish a dialogue with them at these challenging times of the migration crisis. We were able to make sure our inter-parliamentary course on the migrations issue is correct: we believe it’s necessary to support the African countries’ economic growth, stabilize the situation there and secure peace. Migrants should have the chance to return to their homeland, knowing that they have a future there.
Sputnik: How important is it to the countries’ parliaments to cooperate? Will there be further contacts between Italian and Russian MPs? Are they going to have joint projects?
Augusta Montaruli: It’s very important. If you work only within your parliament and don’t know the situation in other countries’ parliaments, then your work can be useless. Italy must respect its interests, and very often they coincide with the Russian ones. This can be proved by the Syrian issue.
Sputnik: What do you think of Conte's statements on the anti-Russian sanctions lifting?
Augusta Montaruli: When I worked in local state institutions, even before I came to the Parliament, we kept asking whether sanctions against Russia, our important partner, would be lifted. Conte can’t abolish sanctions alone. Italy must act together with the EU. I’ll be happy if this happens.
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