Leonid Slutsky to Vestnik Kavkaza on State Duma's plans for Black Sea-Caspian region

The head of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs and Communication with Compatriots, Leonid Slutsky, told Vestnik Kavkaza that the committee's new composition is going to work actively with the parliaments of the Black Sea-Caspian region, which are the nearest neighbors of Russia in the south-west.

"We have a very serious program of interaction with the Black Sea-Caspian region. For example, in the near future Belgrade will host a summit of Emergency Situations, we sent there a State Duma delegation, headed by Mikhail Emelyanov. We will work with all the countries of the region, because they are our nearest neighbors and we have a lot of friends in their parliaments," he stressed.

"We will pay visits to these countries, hold joint meetings with the relevant committees, and keep Vestnik Kavkaza informed," Leonid Slutsky added.

The deputy also noted that, although there is the Committee on CIS Affairs to work with the CIS countries within the region, the International Committee will also maintain parliamentary ties with them, in particular, with Azerbaijan.

"Azerbaijan's Milli Majlis is our colleagues and closest partners, we never stop working with them. I think we will cooperate with our colleagues from Baku with great pleasure," the head of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs and Communication with Compatriots concluded.