(Source: Daily News Bulletin; Moscow - English)
MOSCOW. Oct 7 (Interfax) - Mikhail Margelov, the head of the Russian Federation Council international affairs committee, has invited his counterparts from the other countries of the Group of Eight (G8) to gather in Moscow to discuss the situation in the Caucasus.
He would ask his counterparts to gather at the Federation Council, Margelov told Interfax on Tuesday. "In this case, our meetings could be combined with trips to the scenes of those events in the Caucasus," Margelov said.
"The international community today is busy with the financial crisis, but it is only an illusion that the recent events in the Caucasus have gone to the background," he said.
This issue is still affecting Russia's relations with the U.S. and Europe, Margelov said. "In connection with this, I would like to invite my counterparts from the G8, the heads of the parliamentary committees dealing with international relations, to gather and professionally discuss the current situation surrounding the Caucasus without emotions and prejudiced attitudes," Margelov said.
Cooperation between the G8 countries at the parliamentary level has shown its efficiency in resolving global problems, including security problems, he said.
"Undeniably, such a sensitive issue as the situation in the Caucasus requires careful examination on the part of the G8 parliaments, because its significance spreads far beyond the Caucasus region," Margelov said.
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