HANOI, Oct. 16 Sanctions aimed at opposition to the development of other countries is unacceptable, relations between countries should develop on the principles of mutual respect, non-interference in internal affairs and the absence of double standards, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said during the second meeting of the interparliamentary commission on cooperation between the State Duma and the National Assembly of Vietnam.
«Today we are faced with illegal sanctions. For the past 10 years, our country and other countries have been facing resistance to development. We see that trade wars are being waged against a large number of states… We consider this unacceptable, it is unfair, and therefore our position remains unchanged. Relations must be developed on the principles of respect for each other, non-interference in the affairs of sovereign states and the absence of double standards. But, of course, (it is necessary) to develop mutually beneficial cooperation,» Volodin emphasized.
He added that sanctions «are bad» but they also provide opportunities that the country can use to become stronger. “Over the past 10 years of sanctions wars and resistance to development, our country has become stronger, moving to fifth place among the world’s largest economies, becoming the largest economy in Europe. And those who fought with us have lost their advantages, their dominant position in the world economy,” — Volodin noted.
Thus, he recalled, the United States moved to second position, losing first place to China, Germany became the sixth economy, losing fifth to Russia, “England barely remains in the top ten countries, taking the last line, France took ninth position.” “But it must be said that new states have appeared in the top ten leading strong economic countries, which is nice to say — these countries are also from South Asia,” Volodin noted.
According to him, this suggests that “only independent states have the ability to plan their prospects in the future.” Volodin recalled that this idea was very correctly formulated by the founder of the state of Vietnam, its first president Ho Chi Minh, who emphasized that the most valuable thing is independence and freedom.
«Only independence and freedom give our peoples and countries the opportunity to develop, for us these are not empty words. Vietnam has been working towards this for a very long time, and therefore, when we talk about our relations, for us Vietnam is not only a strategic partner, it is a strategic friend,” added Volodin.
About the visit The State Duma delegation headed by the Chairman of the Chamber Vyacheslav Volodin is in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on an official visit.
As part of the visit, the second meeting of the interparliamentary commission on cooperation between the State Duma and the National Assembly of Vietnam is being held in Hanoi. Parliamentarians are discussing issues of legislative support for cooperation between the two countries in the fields of energy and transport, information technology and agriculture, science and higher education, financial and interbank interaction.
During the visit, Vyacheslav Volodin met with the Chairman of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vuong Dinh Hue and with the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vo Van Thuong.
The Russian delegation included First Vice-Speaker of the Chamber Ivan Melnikov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Alexander Babakov, Head of the Committee on International Affairs, leader of the LDPR Leonid Slutsky, as well as chairmen of the State Duma committees on information policy Alexander Khinshtein, on health protection Badma Bashankaev , for science and higher education Sergei Kabyshev, as well as representatives of the Russian government.