Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-09-16-Speech-4-139"
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"en.19990916.10.4-139"2
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"Mr President, it is actually a little strange that we closed a debate half an hour ago on the financial vicissitudes of Russia and have now moved on to another problem facing the country. Perhaps we should have organised things a little better here in this Parliament and had an extensive debate on Russia and all the things going on there, in view of its needs and the great importance of the country, also from the European Union’s point of view, in an attempt to get some kind of grip on the situation. Once again, I would like to endorse what Mr Swoboda said on the matter. Having just discussed the financial vicissitudes of Russia we are now going to discuss the political stability of the country. Recent developments there give cause for concern, indeed I might say a great deal of cause for concern. Violent conflict in Dagestan, bomb attacks in Moscow, and all this in the midst of rumours about plots and all kinds of theories as to what is supposed to be behind it all, and all the different associations being made, for example with the forthcoming parliamentary elections and attempts by certain groups to undermine this process.
We lament the violence and the victims and we sympathise with the Russian authorities, who are trying to get the situation under control. We repudiate the violence in the severest terms. Russia has enough problems as it is. Even the political system is under pressure and political violence will only increase instability in the country. The negative consequences of this affect us too. The violence in Dagestan, the subject we are actually discussing, may spread further through the Caucasus, with all kinds of unpredictable consequences. No one is anticipating that either. Whilst it may be clear as to why it is in our interests to find a political solution, we only have a limited amount of influence over the internal situation in Russia. Indeed the debate we have just had demonstrated this and all we can do is encourage the Russian authorities to restore order with the minimum of violence. The Russian authorities must enter into political dialogue with the authorities of Chechnya, who must also take responsibility and stop supporting illegal groups in Dagestan. We believe, and this point is also made in the resolution, that the OSCE should be the one to bear this message. The EU should concern itself more with the socio-economic development of the region, another point made in our text. These are small steps which are unlikely to have a great deal of impact on Russia as a whole. But they are things we can do and which will also serve to convey that we have our reasons for wanting Russia to become stable, both in terms of the details we are discussing here and as a whole. We must be ready to deliver any humanitarian aid that is required. We must provide help wherever we are able to do so. But we do not have much of a grip on the situation. That is one of the greatest risks which Europe will have to face in coming years and I call upon Parliament, but also the Commission and the Council, to put the debate on Russia and its future in Europe on the agenda, and keep it there."@en1
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