MINSK, 18 May (BelTA) – The voice of the parliamentarians of Belarus and friendly nations should be louder and more assertive when it comes to defending the interests of their peoples, Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly Natalya Kochanova told reporters following the meeting of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko with participants of the CSTO PA Council meeting on 18 May, BelTA has learned.
According to Natalya Kochanova, every nation seeks peaceful development and the free, independent functioning of the domestic economy. It is important to respect national interests of countries when interacting in integration associations.
“It is impossible to live differently now. It is not so easy to survive one one’s own under the current world order,” said Natalya Kochanova. She noted that Belarus cooperates with a number of friendly countries with which it has common history. “We have been working together for many years in such associations as the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly and the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly. We discuss very important, urgent issues there. Today we need to stand together in defending the interests of our countries. Yet, the most important thing is to preserve peace and calm,” she emphasized.
Today’s developments highlight the urgency of efforts to maintain peace. The number of conflicts is growing, many of which must and can be resolved by peaceful means. “We believe that such issues should be resolved quickly and efficiently. We need to think what we will pass on to our children and future generations. First of all, we need to preserve peace. This is our number one task. The voice of parliamentarians should be more assertive when it comes to defending the interests of our peoples and our countries,” Natalya Kochanova noted.