MINSK, 5 May (BelTA) – Chairman of the House of Representatives Vladimir Andreichenko and Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic Natalya Kochanova met with a parliamentary delegation of Moldova led by Speaker of the Moldovan parliament Zinaida Greceanii on 5 May, BelTA has learned.
“We are always happy to welcome guests in Belarus, especially those who we consider friends. We have recently met with the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Moldova to Belarus. The two countries have a good history of relations as two friendly nations. We have no serious problems. We regularly exchange visits of presidents, heads of government, and members of parliament. We have set up working groups on cooperation. It is also important that we have a well-developed legal framework that includes more than 90 agreements: interstate, government-to-government and inter-departmental. We have always cooperated in international organizations in a constructive way,” Vladimir Andreichenko said.
According to him, this visit of the Moldovan delegation is very important. “It will open a new page in the development of our interparliamentary relations and contribute greatly to the advancement of cooperation between our countries in all fields,” Vladimir Andreichenko noted. “It is also very important that this visit is taking place in the run-up to Victory Day. The memory of the feat and heroism of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War is sacred for Belarus, because it helped defeat Nazism and free our countries. During your visit, we will unveil a monument to Hero of the Soviet Union Ion Soltys from Moldova and commemorate war victims. The program of the visit also includes laying a capsule with the soil from the burial places of Moldovan soldiers who died liberating Belarus in the crypt of the All Saints Church. All this is very important for all of us, especially in the current challenging times. We see many attempts to rewrite the history of the Great Patriotic War. Of course, we should join efforts to respond to events aimed at distorting the history of the Great Patriotic War and rehabilitating Nazism,” he stressed.
We should raise this topic at international platforms, especially such as the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Vladimir Andreichenko believes. “In my opinion, we should propose more resolutions aimed at uniting nations and strengthening peace and trust. Belarus also counts on Moldova's support in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. As you can see, it is biased against Belarus, to put it mildly. The Parliamentary Assembly has recently heard out reports of its members about the reform of the electoral system and human rights violations. Unfortunately, no one studied these matters in detail after the events of last August, although we have sent letters to speakers of all member states of the European Union. Sadly, only a couple of them responded. Sessions of the Parliamentary Assembly address only these matters, ignoring the fact that it was a plain attempt at a coup in Belarus. But we will continue pursuing our own policy in this matter,” he said.
Belarus is a peaceful and friendly country, Vladimir Andreichenko stressed. “We would like to see our relations with everyone based on mutual understanding and trust,” he pointed out.
“Your visit is indeed a landmark event. It will become another page in the history of the friendly relations between Moldova and Belarus,” Natalya Kochanova noted. “Our country is a sovereign state and we will not let anyone manipulate our country. We are having a hard time now. It is important that MPs of different countries communicate and listen to each other. We also want to show you what is really happening in our country,” she said.
Belarus and Moldova have established open and trust-based relations, Natalya Kochanova stressed. “This helps strengthen the friendship between out peoples. It is great that we maintain good relations not only in economy, but also in humanitarian affairs. For example, we signed an interparliamentary agreement on cooperation in education in 2019. We will be happy if the Moldovan youth choose to study in Belarusian universities. At present, we are mulling over an interparliamentary agreement on mutual recognition of academic certificates, which is very important as well. In 2020, we signed an agreement of social insurance. We are also grateful to the Moldovan party for unveiling a bust of Francysk Skaryna in Chisinau. Humanitarian cooperation helps us learn more about each other,” she believes.
The Youth Council has been set up at the House of Representatives, Natalya Kochanova pointed out. “It will be great if the youth of the two countries establish friendship and cooperate. There is also a large women's organization in Belarus that brings together 142,000 women. I believe that cooperation between women's public associations also holds promise,” she said. “There is still huge untapped potential for cooperation between MPs of Belarus and Moldova. There is a lot of work ahead of us. Belarusian MPs will facilitate the development of our relations for the benefit of our countries, our nations, and our friendship,” she added.
“It is a great honor for us to visit the Belarusian parliament. Our countries are connected by century-old traditions. Even if some are trying to damage this, we, the current generation, should maintain this connection,” Zinaida Greceanii said. “MPs should follow the path charted by people and businesses. Because this is the path of development. We are happy to hear that Belarus-Moldova cooperation is not about words, but about real, specific activities. We should keep this up,” she stressed.
Photos by Ramil Nasibulin
