31.10 Inter-Parliamentary Contact Group on Ukraine May Meet at OSCE PA Winter Session: Reports

MOSCOW, October 31 (RIA Novosti) - The meeting of an inter-parliamentary contact group on Ukraine is likely to take place during the next session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization on Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE PA), scheduled for February, Izvestia newspaper reported Friday.

Alexei Pushkov, who heads the Russian lower parliamentary house's foreign affairs committee, told Izvestia that OSCE PA chief Ilkka Kanerva supports the idea of the meeting.

"His [Kanerva's] decision is that the meeting of the contact group was delayed because of Ukraine's stance, but was not cancelled and the project remains in force, nobody rejected it," the senior lawmaker told the newspaper.

Acting head of Russian upper parliamentary house's foreign affairs committee Vladimir Dzhabarov also stated that the meeting is planned to be held at OSCE PA winter session.

"The next meeting is planned to be held in February," the official said, stressing that Russian lawmakers are willing to communicate with their Ukrainian colleagues and are "ready to cooperate for the restoration of relations, as well as for the resolution of debatable issues, including the one on the maintenance of peace in the South-East [of Ukraine]."

The first meeting of the inter-parliamentary contact group on Ukraine was initially scheduled for October 3 within the OSCE PA session. However, the Ukrainian lawmakers refused to participate because of the upcoming October 26 parliamentary election in the country. The group was created at Russia's initiative at OSCE PA session in June.

OSCE PA Winter Meeting is to be held on February 19-20, 2015 in Vienna.