MOSCOW, January 16. / TASS /. Russia will pursue its independent foreign policy despite the ongoing sanctions pressure on Moscow. This is what Speaker of the Federation Council, Valentina Matvienko, said on Wednesday opening the upper house’s spring session.

"We cannot expect that sanctions or political pressure exerted on our country will be weakened. Despite this, we will continue our independent foreign policy which serves our national interests and our national security," the speaker stressed.

According to Matvienko, members of the Federation Council need to scale up actions and initiatives to build confidence in the Russian Federation and clarify its position. The official also called for "maximally engaging the entire arsenal of parliamentary diplomacy to counteract the spread of disinformation about Russia."

The speaker promised that Russia would continue working within the framework of international organizations, including the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.