OSCE PA President Ilkka Kanerva (right) and Russian State Duma Chairperson Sergey Naryshkin ahead of their meeting in Moscow, 12 February.COPENHAGEN, 12 February 2015 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) met today with Russian State Duma Chairperson Sergey Naryshkin in Moscow for talks that focused on Russia’s role in international efforts to resolve the crisis in and around Ukraine.

The meeting provided an opportunity for an initial exchange of thoughts on the measures agreed in Minsk today.

“I have begun to review the package of pledges that were agreed in Minsk today and this was certainly a topic of my discussions with Chairperson Naryshkin. What I can say at this early stage is that there is at least some new hope now for a diplomatic solution to take hold and for certain violations of OSCE principles to end. However, while agreeing on a document is a difficult process, the real work starts now. True, lasting commitment must be demonstrated in practice by all sides, and in particular by the illegal separatists and the decision-makers here in Russia,” Kanerva said following the meeting.

“I welcome the OSCE's role in monitoring and implementing these planned steps and the PA will support those efforts. I look forward to constructive interaction with Chairperson Naryshkin and all of the members of the Russian Delegation to the OSCE PA to that end," he added.

President Kanerva and Chairperson Naryshkin, who serves as the Head of the Russian Delegation to OSCE PA, also discussed possibilities for further PA efforts to support a diplomatic resolution, as well as next week’s Winter Meeting of the Assembly, which will feature a debate on the OSCE’s response to the crisis.

Other topics of discussion included the situation along the Ukrainian-Russian border and the need to safeguard civilians from the conflict.

Kanerva’s visit follows meetings last week in Kyiv with Verkhovna Rada Chair Volodymyr Groysman, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and others.