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Russian, Austrian parliament speakers agree to expand dialogue

The State Duma speaker also invited his Austrian colleague to visit Moscow next year when the 75th anniversary of the Second World War victory will be celebrated

STRASBOURG, October 24. /TASS/. Chairman of the Russian State Duma (lower house) Vyacheslav Volodin and Austrian President of the National Council Wolfgang Sobotka have agreed to ramp up cooperation on relevant issues in the best interests of citizens of both countries.

"If you think that our relations and issues that need addressing can be discussed in the framework of a bilateral commission, let’s think about it. We could use this framework to develop our relations as well, introducing more specific contents into the work," Volodin said Thursday at a meeting with his Austrian counterpart.

The State Duma speaker also invited his Austrian colleague to visit Moscow next year when the 75th anniversary of the Second World War victory will be celebrated. Volodin underlined that Austria can serve as an example to many countries in the way it ensures careful attitude towards memorials Soviet troops who lost their lives in World War II battles.

In turn, Sobotka replied that he would be "glad to visit Moscow". The Austrian speaker also agreed that "dialogue needs to be expanded and deepened" between the two parliament chambers, particularly on the issues of digitalization and cyber security, as well as ecology. "Austria is interested in intensifying dialogue with Russia," he said. Moreover, the speakers hashed over issues relating to the situation in Syria.

The heads of parliaments have arrived in Strasbourg for a conference marking the 70th anniversary of Council of Europe’s creation.

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