State Duma chairman Boris Gryzlov’s opening address to the fifth parliamentary speakers’ meeting of the Group of Eight

September 16, 2006

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I hope nobody will view the sunshine here in St. Petersburg as some sort of disturbance. In this city, sunshine is a rare sight.

On behalf of the Russian members of parliament, I would like to welcome you to the fifth parliamentary speakers' meeting of the Group of Eight. The very air of St. Petersburg, the city where we have just recently celebrated the State Duma's 100^th anniversary, is set to facilitate fruitful work.

We truly believe that contacts between parliaments will help our countries decide on common approaches to the priority issues of today's world.

The preliminary list of topics offered to you includes legislative support for the two most important issues discussed here in St. Petersburg at the meeting of G8 heads of state and government: global energy security and the fight against terror. This, of course, does not restrict our freedom to share our views on other important issues as well.

Our first discussion will be about the role of legislative support in countering new threats and challenges - an important topic on which we will no doubt be very competently briefed by J. Dennis Hastert, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress.

For my part, I would like to highlight Russia's long history of confronting new challenges, which goes back decades, if not centuries. Back in the 19th century, people who believed that terror was a cure for all our ills waged a campaign to hunt down the head of the Russian state right here on the streets of St. Petersburg. My fellow participants, I believe, will remember equally instructive examples from their own national history, but our experience is still different, as we now know exactly where that road of terror was leading and how those who orchestrated it were cutting down, consistently and cruelly, the tree of Russia's statehood.

As a new Russia, a Russia where there neither is nor could ever be a place for terrorists, emerges today, we feel that the consequences of that terrorist campaign are still among the ills we have to confront. This explains the Russian leadership's position that a real and tough response is needed to new challenges and threats.

In December 2003, Russian President Vladimir Putin called upon the U.N. General Assembly to adopt a resolution to counter new challenges and threats. In the wake of the Beslan tragedy, the State Duma adopted resolutions and declarations, urging our fellow lawmakers across the globe to recognize that if international terror, with its social and economic roots and financial base, is ever to be eradicated, it will only be done by a united international community. We held up what we believe was our part of the bargain by amending our laws to help fight terror.

The Russian Federation has ratified the Council of Europe's Convention for the Prevention of Terrorism and the Protocol amending the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism. Yesterday we ratified the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. We are truly committed to practical steps because the fight against terror is a matter of action. For this reason, we will also be very interested in the Honorable Mr. Hastert's keynote speech and in the views of the other participants.

Our common task is to provide a high level of security, including protection against threats that might emerge from the uncontrolled proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. I don't think there should be any disagreement on this issue, as we must do as much as possible to preserve existing international agreements and prevent nuclear weapons from spreading all over the world and getting into irresponsible, not to mention terrorist, hands.

It is especially important for nations that do not have nuclear weapons to abandon any attempts to create one and to guarantee that they will not misuse nuclear energy facilities for military purposes. Among non-nuclear nations we must have not enemies but partners, and it is important to convince them that possessing nuclear weapons is not the key to their security.

We are also very deeply concerned about the problem of illegal migration and related issues such as criminality and drug trafficking, as well as exploitation of cheap labor and disrespect for human rights as we come to realize that people in the 21^st century may still become objects of the slave trade.

These problems have been put on the table during bilateral meetings, Russia-EU consultations and at the G8. In the first six months of 2006 alone, Russia's State Duma adopted four federal laws regulating migration, including a new federal law on the registration of migrants. Our working group has drafted, in close cooperation with non-governmental organizations fighting the slave trade, a new federal law on countering human trafficking.

We often speak at the negotiating table about the need for a common effort to counter the most dangerous diseases of our time, such as AIDS and other infectious and viral diseases that claim hundreds of thousands of lives. Thanks to efforts by Russian lawmakers, our country now has a modern legal framework for fighting cross-border infectious diseases.

This June, the State Duma held an international parliamentary conference highlighting the problem of HIV/AIDS in Eurasia and the role of G8 parliamentarians in fighting it. The conference brought together over 50 lawmakers and experts from the G8 and Eurasian nations, who adopted a statement to G8 leaders calling for more joint action on this challenge.

 

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We would indeed be seen as people unaware of the real problems the world is facing if our meeting disregarded the threats stemming from imbalances in the energy market. The esteemed Norbert Lammert, the speaker of the Bundestag, will have the floor to speak on proposals promoting common approaches to energy security.

At the G8 leaders' meeting, President Vladimir Putin very aptly defined Russia's view on the issue, saying that, instead of being treated just as a question of stability of supply for key energy consumers, energy security should be seen in a broader sense, which would include production, transportation and sales, with each of those representing a link in a chain whose operation was everyone's responsibility. This, and the legal framework for it, is clearly something we need to think over.

What we definitely would not like to see is a discussion that ends here in this hall. We would be satisfied if our parliamentary counterparts agreed to set up an advisory council consisting of members of relevant committees of G8 parliaments, as well as renowned academics and public figures, to foster practical cooperation among G8 parliaments in ensuring international legislative support for global energy security. In a rapidly changing world it is always important to feel the pulse of that change and avoid misunderstandings, which typically emerge when the position of this or that country is not communicated properly. We often feel that our partners fail to correctly estimate the strategic threats to energy producers - which may be caused by the uncooperative behavior of transiting countries - or to energy-importing nations due to inconvenient energy pricing.

The market, probably the most unbiased realm in today's world, is hard to influence. However, we might play a role in helping make this market more civilized and more responsive to the interests of both energy consumers and the nations that supply them.

We would describe our goal as "legally formalized energy harmony". This definition could apply to a wide range of energy issues. Russia, for instance, takes legislative support for the nuclear energy industry and nuclear and radiological security very seriously indeed. Aware of the serious and open debates you are having in your parliaments on this issue, we would also be interested in the sharing of best practices, innovations and expert views, because one aspect of lawmaking in a country hit by the Chernobyl blast is reassuring our citizens that nuclear energy development will be exceptionally safe, and this claim should rest on a strong legal framework.

Energy security also includes such topics as legislative support for renewable energy, which calls for technology sharing aimed at stimulating the use of alternative sources of energy. We are no less interested in environmental initiatives and we would like to see a common policy adopted on technological regulations and environmental safety requirements for energy sites, transportation infrastructure, and energy transport by sea.

Last but not least, we are concerned about the development of innovative technologies and would like to see the legally regulated introduction of new energy-efficiency and energy-saving standards. The State Duma will shortly give appropriate consideration to the alternative energy sources bill the Russian Industry and Energy Ministry has been drafting for some time. The parliamentarians have also praised the ministry's plan to draft a federal target program ensuring higher efficiency of energy consumption. Knowing that similar programs either have been enacted or are in the process of enactment in your countries, we would appreciate your views on the issue as well.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.