Duma Speaker instructs committee to draft statement on Syria

Speaker of Russia’s State Duma, Sergei Naryshkin, has issued an instruction to an appropriate committee of the lower house of parliament to draft a resolution on Syria. As he took the floor Tuesday at the first plenary meeting of the Duma after the start of the autumn session, Naryshkin said the position on the conflict in Syria taken by the US “proves that the observance of fundamental norms of international law is neither a priority nor an imperative for Washington.” “Still this observance means much for us, for our partners, and for everyone who respects the principle of sovereignty and who is making all the necessary steps to support international security,” Naryshkin said. He promised that Russian MPs would collaborate with counterparts from other parliaments of the world towards tapping a peaceful solution to the Syrian problem. His instruction to the Duma foreign policy committee says that “the statement should be drafted as a priority document with account of the encouraging shifts that have emerged in the past few hours, largely thanks to Russia’s principled proposal to place the chemical weapons found in Syria under international control.” Foreign Policy Committee Chairman, Dr. Alexei Pushkov said Monday a statement on Syria may be issued as early as Wednesday, September 11.