At today's plenary session, the Federation Council adopted a statement in connection with the murder of the Russian Ambassador Andrey Karlov in Turkey, which condemns the attack and calls on the international community to join the forces to combat terrorism.
"The Federation Council is outraged by this brutal act, strongly condemns it and states that the international terrorism not only continues to attack civilians, but also organizes the assassination of the high-ranking officials of states, expecting to provoke the conflicts and crises in the international relations,’’ TASS leads the text of the statement.
The upper chamber of the parliament of the Russian Federation noted that such actions aiming the split of the international community, only confirm the need to unite the efforts of all countries in confronting terrorists. To do so, it is necessary to postpone the political differences and take a firm stand, engage in establishing of the broad and effective inter-parliamentary and inter-state cooperation in the fight against the international terrorism.
‘’Finally, it is time to stop the senseless attempts to divide the terrorists into ‘moderate’ and ‘immoderate’, stop manipulating the public opinion and stop the media campaigns against those who, in fact, are fighting against the terrorists and providing the humanitarian assistance to the victims of the militants - not in word, but in deed,’’ the senators stressed.
"We have a common goal - to prevent the terrorists achieve their criminal aims, and unite to confront the total and absolute evil, which has no religious, ethnic or ideological grounds and cannot be justified by anything,’’ the Federation Council drew attention.
In addition, the MPs made it clear that they hope for the help of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to be provided to the competent authorities in the investigation of all the circumstances of the murder, and the development of robust and effective measures to prevent the acts of terrorism.
The senators also thanked their colleagues from the parliaments of other countries and inter-parliamentary organizations, that expressed solidarity and support to the relatives and friends of Andrey Karlov and Russian people.
At the beginning of the plenary session, the parliamentarians observed a moment of silence in memory of Andrey Karlov.
As Veronika Krasheninnikova, the CEO of the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies and Initiatives, an Aid to the CEO of Russia today IA, noted earlier in an interview to Vestnik Kavkaza, Andrey Karlov was killed at the opening ceremony which aimed at strengthening of human and cultural ties between Russia and Turkey. "A terrorist attack under such circumstances is especially outrageous. Of course, we have to work even more intensively with our partners who share the Russian course of the anti-terrorist struggle in deed not in word,’’ she said.
"We must reconsider security measures of Russia’s embassies in the Middle East, where it is necessary, probably in other countries as well. Finally, we all must understand that Russian diplomats are providing such a serious important work that they have to pay their lives for it,’’ Veronika Krasheninnikova said.
Deputy Chairman of the Association of Russian Diplomats Andrei Baklanov pointed out that first of all it is necessary to investigate thoroughly the tragedy, and then to punish all guilty for this crime. "At the same time, it is necessary to improve in other directions: strengthen physical and other securities of our diplomatic missions. It is necessary to analyze whether we are doing everything in order to constantly be on guard organizationally, technically and morally. It is necessary to additionally work with our foreign teams, and most importantly - prevent such acts of terrorism, which requires national efforts, hard work on organization of cooperation between all countries where it can be useful,’’ he said.
The diplomat recalled that the terrorist threat continues to grow in recent years, which eventually led to the creation of the Daesh terrorist group (banned in Russia). "No one could imagine this even in wartime, that a time will come when the medieval bandit state will be established in the territory of two independent states. It shows helplessness of the international community, it is a shame for all of us and it can't be tolerated. But in order to fight against it, we must resume cooperation through the Security Council, at least at a minimum level, with the adoption of coordinated, competent decisions,’’ the expert said.
‘’We had this cooperation in the early 2000s, we had joint working groups with the largest western countries and a number of Middle Eastern countries. But then, unfortunately, around 2010-2012, these working groups basically stopped their work and our cooperation on the anti-terrorist front disappeared altogether, Russia is no longer part of the G8. But this policy does not correspond to the current historical moment. Moreover, we can say that all kinds of sanctions and pressure on us, imposed by the West, helps terrorists and is a continuation of terrorist activity - it's just another side of it. It must end. Europe should elect leaders of the new generation, who would look at the situation more soberly,’’ Andrey Baklanov concluded.
