President Vladimir Putin: Dear Leonid Danilovich, dear colleagues,
I am very happy to be here today, and welcome all participants of the Russian-Ukranian meeting of represetative of supreme legislative bodies of power.
The supreme Rada of Ukraine and the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation has indeed recently demonstrated a high level of responsibility, and readiness for coordinated actions, and has ratified documents that are very important for bilateral relations and international cooperation. This concerns the treaties on the Russian-Ukrainian border and cooperation in use of the Azov Sea and the Kerch strait, and also the agreement on a Common economic space.
I would like to note that the synchronized ratification of these key documents is above all a sign of the growth in trust between our countries. And it is very pleasing that parliamentarians of both Russia and Ukraine have felt this tendency. Undoubtedly, this is the result of active and fruitful cooperation of legislative bodies. I know that the path to ratification was not easy for Ukraine or Russia. Among the deputies of both countries there were, of course, particular opinions, and there were many serious disputes, but most importantly, this impassioned and fundamental discussion is a normal process, and it is especially pleasing when it ends with a positive result.
Now it is important to begin as soon as possible to implement the measures stipulated by the agreement on a Common economic space of the “group of four” countries. Today, we gave this a lot of attention in our talks with the Ukrainian President. Our goal is to create a common market of goods, services, capital, and labour force, the thin that the Europeans began with. God has ordered us not to waste what we have had, but to move ahead, and on this basis to solve social tasks, to create strong, effective, and above all economic interaction. There is enough work for everyone, this is certain. The parliaments of the two countries have a special role, and not because extensive legislative activity rests on its shoulders – I am certain that deputies can minimize excessive politicization of this process.
I would like to stress that not only official bodies and economic subjects are interested in the development of economic cooperation – above all, business is interested in this, which will work effectively in this space if it feels the consolidated political will of our countries. And both our goals and yours are the same: to become integrate into international economic processes. There are no disagreements here, there are no obstacles which could arise in the course of our joint work. On the contrary, we want to clear the way for movement in this direction.
It is fundamentally important that we want to occupy a place that is worthy of our country in the international division of labour. We do not want for Russia to be restricted to export of gas and oil alone, and I do not think that anyone in Ukraine wants to only trade beets on international markets, especially as no one needs beets there.
We have a very high scientific, intellectual and personnel potential both in Ukraine and in Russia. We should maintain it and increase it, I repeat once more: to occupy a worthy place in the international economy – but we can only do this by joining our efforts.
I suggest that under the close supervision of deputies, there should also be issues determined by the Treaty on the state border. During its implementation, it is important to take into account the interests of citizens of Russia and Ukraine, to remember their numerous ties of family and friends and business contacts, and to understand that they reinforce inter-governmental relations. And in this sense, we need to do a great deal more at the administrative level. Furthermore, we are developing effective border cooperation, and the statutes of the treaty must be used to strengthen these ties.
I note the great significance of the Azov-Kerch regulating process. We were able to take a balance decision, which will allow us to establish the closest cooperation in such spheres as shipping, fishing, protection of the environment and many others. And here we also must not forget about the people who live in these regions and suffer, truly suffer from the fact that these issues have not been regulated. This depends on us together. It is something that we have not worked out, as we have not yet created normal conditions for economy and normal life in this region.
At the meeting you actively discussed, a the speakers of the two parliaments said just now, the formation of the Common economic space, primarily the legal issues which we need to decide before we can move forward. It is important that the integration ideas we have developed find their reflection in the laws that it remains for us to work on, and which need to be passed. I know that at the meeting, Russian deputies also talked about other problems. I will talk about this, but I will conclude this section on economic integration. I would once again emphasise the role of the parliaments, because in this serious discussion between deputies, there is a process of understanding and recognition taking place of the correctness of the choices and decisions we have made. So the more serious the discussions will be, the beter – it is important that they end with a real result.
If we are talking about humanitarian issues, the decision of the National Council on radio and television broadcasting in Ukraine was mentioned. It was as it were specially passed before the voting on key issues of our interaction. I would like to appeal to the deputies who want constructive cooperation between our two countries: there should under no circumstances be any panic, and these important issues should not be taken into the sphere of confrontation, this must not be allowed to happen. These are very important, sensitive and delicate issues of our cooperation.
In Russia, we always take the position that we have created and will continue to create conditions for the study and use of the Ukrainian language, particularly in areas with compact settlement of Ukrainians. I want to assure you that we will do this systematically and consistently. I hope that our Ukrainian colleagues have the same understanding and approach. I count on common sense and friendly relations with people in Ukraine who consider Russian to be their native language, who think in Russian and would like their children to use this language. And I would like to stress once more that this is Ukraine’s internal affair, the internal affair of Ukrainian society. On our part, we in Russia will do everything to support the development of Ukrainian culture and the Ukrainian language in the Russian Federation.
In conclusion, I would like to stress that partnership with Ukraine is the most high priority area of Russian foreign policy. The fact that we signed and ratified the treaty on the border proves this. We want to clear away everything – and not just in the legal sphere – we want to clear away everything in the minds of our citizens, that there are no obstacles for Russia to support the historic choice of the Ukrainian people for independence. There are no obstacles, but in clearing away these old ideas in their minds, in practice and in law, our position is that we are clearing the way for joint effective work. And in this sense, the role and significance of the activity of parliamentarians is enormous. I very much hope that it will continue in the same positive and constructive way, and with the same mood of joint, effective work which the parliaments of the two countries have shown over the last few weeks.
Thank you for your attention and for your joint work.