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“We must not deviate from dialogue,” MEP Fernand Kartheiser, initiator of the call with representatives from the Russian Duma, said.

A Wednesday, October 1st, video conference between European lawmakers and Russian parliamentarians sparked outrage among MEPs, who are calling for swift disciplinary action, saying it violates European Parliament rules.

The video call was organised by independent Luxembourg MEP Fernand Kartheiser, a proponent of keeping communications with Russia open. “We should discuss together the issues of Ukrainian settlement, the ways to establish lasting peace, to restore cooperation, and to counter the arms race,” Kartheiser said.

Kartheiser stressed that although the meeting was unofficial, it was still symbolic, and said other representatives had also expressed interest in similar forums. He declined revealing which other MEPs participated in the meeting, citing potential risks to their careers, but Russian news agency TASS reported they represented Austria, Germany, and Bulgaria.

Left-wing Italian Pina Picierno, vice president of the European Parliament, said, “Such meetings without an institutional mandate undermine the general interests of the EU and the rules of Parliament.” Sergey Lagodinsky, German vice president of the Greens/EFA, also distanced himself from the event, saying that any attempt to normalise the State Duma’s “parliamentary relations” is an attempt to normalise aggressive warfare.

The Russian Duma delegation was led by Leonid Slutsky—a sanctioned figure—chairman of the committee on international affairs, who, according to media reports, expressed his gratitude that the European participants had re-established contact with their Russian colleagues after an eleven-year hiatus.

The main reason for the outrage among MEPs is that they see contact with Russian representatives—most of whom are under sanctions—as a means of spreading Kremlin propaganda and weakening the EU’s internal unity. Several MEPs have therefore called for disciplinary measures against Kartheiser and the representatives who participated in the event.

Kartheiser was expelled from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group earlier this year after visiting Moscow at the invitation of the Duma and meeting with high-level officials and parliamentarians. He has continued to argue for dialogue, including in interviews where he accused the EU of isolating itself rather than Russia and warned of escalation risks from Brussels’ “irrational policy.”

Original article:  europeanconservative.com