Full assembly: The Russian Federation is ready for contacts with the parliaments of America and Europe

Russia is ready to continue contacts with parliamentarians in North America and Europe, and their unwillingness is "their business." Vladimir Putin said this on April 28 at a meeting with members of the Council of Legislators in St. Petersburg. The number of like-minded Russians in the world is growing: against this background, the head of state called for strengthening parliamentary diplomacy. This is especially true for contacts between the EAEU, the CSTO, the CIS, BRICS and the SCO. Today, Russian lawmakers are adequately responding to the challenges of the time: in the future, one of their tasks will be to form unified standards for supporting their fighters. Putin also instructed to focus on the long-term development of the country and take each of the new national projects under parliamentary control.

The contribution of parliamentarians to ensuring the objectives of their

Vladimir Putin arrived in St. Petersburg on April 28 for a meeting of the Council of Legislators, which, according to tradition, was held at the Tavrichesky Palace. The place was not chosen by chance: in 1905, by the decision of Nicholas II, the palace became the place of work of the first Russian parliament, the State Duma. The date of the current meeting is determined by the day of parliamentarism, which is celebrated in the Russian Federation on April 27.

—This significant date reflects the continuity and continuity of the development of our statehood, the importance of your work for the current stage of the country's development, and, of course, the fundamental nature of the constitutional principles of democracy, which help us strengthen the country together, confidently overcome trials and difficulties, and achieve the great goals that we set for ourselves together," the President said. speaking to the members of the Council.

Today, the political system is forced to work under external pressure, but the parliamentary corps at all levels adequately responds to the challenges of the time, the head of state noted. Deputies and senators help front-line soldiers and combat veterans, and many have joined the ranks of volunteers themselves, Vladimir Putin recalled.

The main priority in the work of lawmakers remains to ensure the objectives of their defense: support for the defense industry, army and navy, legislative regulation of security issues, as well as the integration of Donbass and Novorossiya into the Russian space. At a separate meeting with Chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko, the President instructed to analyze new possible measures to support the population of the Kursk region, which had been completely liberated from the Armed Forces the day before.

At the meeting, the President also noted the significant contribution of the subjects to helping the front and the military. Putin instructed the parliament to define uniform standards of support for fighters, based on the best regional practices.

— We need to carefully analyze and summarize this experience. Using the best practices, determine the basic, if I may say so, the initial standards of support for all regions of the country. I know that this is not an easy task, the regions are different, of course. Nevertheless, it is necessary to strive for this. I believe that the Council of Legislators, as well as the parliamentary associations of federal districts, can play a coordinating role here," he stressed.

Contacts of Russian lawmakers with colleagues from other countries

In difficult geopolitical realities, parliamentary diplomacy is important. Legislators should strengthen contacts between the EAEU, the CSTO, the CIS, BRICS and the SCO. This is especially important because the number of like-minded Russian citizens in different countries and on different continents is growing, Vladimir Putin said. At the same time, the Russian Federation is ready to continue contacts with legislators from unfriendly countries.

— We do not give up contacts with Western parliamentarians both in North America and in Europe. They don't want to, that's their business. But we are always ready for this, and I know we always discuss these issues with the heads of both chambers," the head of state said.

So far, deputies and senators have not begun to confirm or deny the existence of such contacts with American congressmen or EU deputies. Nevertheless, foreign partners generally highly appreciate the system of parliamentarism in Russia, Chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko told reporters. According to her, some Russian laws are becoming "model laws" for other countries.

Russia is open for mutually beneficial cooperation: The country supports integration processes based on the principles of respect for each other's sovereignty and common history, Vladimir Putin stressed. In this regard, he drew attention to the fact that, on the initiative of the parliamentary assembly, the international forum "Great Heritage — a Common Future" is being held in Volgograd, where the president will also go. Representatives of 20 countries, including European ones, will attend this forum, said Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin during a bilateral meeting with Putin.

What tasks has Putin set for senators and deputies?

The challenges Russia is facing today are not a reason to postpone the country's long—term development goals: these include improving the quality of life for families, demographics, strengthening the economy and technological independence, as well as supporting businesses, Vladimir Putin recalled. In 2024, about 200 socially significant laws were adopted. For example, a package to modernize the fiscal system (a more equitable distribution of the tax burden), the introduction of new measures to support families with children, and the indexation of pensions for working pensioners. However, there are still many unresolved issues: for example, administrative barriers, the president noted.

— There is a lot of work ahead. The government, parliament, regions and local authorities have many tasks. Including the implementation of updated national projects. I ask you to take each of them under parliamentary control," he stressed.

The Council of Legislators has already partially discussed these issues before the president's speech. In particular, they touched upon the problem of providing the regions with qualified personnel in the field of healthcare and education. Representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers also participated in these discussions. The Ministry of Labor has already formed a forecast of staffing requirements until 2030, and starting this year, the agency will switch to a seven-year forecast. This will have a direct impact on student enrollment figures, since today the percentage of employment in the specialty is quite low, said Anton Kotyakov, head of the Ministry of Labor.

— My colleagues and I have developed a methodology for translating personnel forecast indicators and admission control figures. All this allows us to clearly predict the planned values of university applicants for the needs that the market is shaping. Today we see that there are a number of problems in the industries in terms of the dropout of children at the stages of their education — comprehensive support is needed here — from both educational institutions and subjects of the Russian Federation, as well as industry departments — so that they complete their studies, and we need to analyze the reasons why they decided to complete the learning process. — He told Izvestia.

At a meeting with Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin, the head of state also called for special attention to these issues: the parliament needs to join forces with the government in solving social problems. Vyacheslav Volodin, in turn, added that during the spring session, the Federal Assembly will 100% fulfill all the instructions from the presidential address.