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Nikolai Levichev represented the position of the faction of A JUST RUSSIA on the address to the foreign parliamentarians to give full support for the Olympic Truce 24 января 2014 On January 24, the State Duma started its meeting with an address to the world parliamentarians on giving their full support for the observance of the Olympic Truce for the period of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. The position of the faction of A JUST RUSSIA was represented by Mr. Levichev. Here is the text of his speech: Dear colleagues, Dear Sergeyi Evgenievich (Naryshkin)! Our faction is certainly going to support the State Duma address. I believe each Duma deputy may realize a special significance of this event and the fact that voting for the above-mentioned address we join a long-lasting historical tradition that may be traced back (according to some sources) to the IX century of our era when three Greek Kings were the first to sign an agreement saying that all wars should cease during the time of the Olympics. In contemporary history, the International Olympic Committee revived that tradition in 1992, and in 1993, the UN General Assembly strongly urged all member-countries to observe the Olympic Truce for the period from 7 days before through 7 days after the Olympics. During the years that passed, the basic ideological and theoretical principles of the Olympic Truce have been developed in great details. For example, the first UN Resolution of the General Assembly occupied only one page but the UN Resolution on the Olympic Truce for the period of the Sochi Olympics that was adopted by the General Assembly upon the initiative of Russia and Greece in November last year already included five pages, and it is a very detailed document. But if we try to recall what has been done for the last twenty years within the Olympic Truce framework, we have to admit with great regret that there is actually nothing to remember. Maybe, we might remember the siege of Sarajevo (during the Bosnian War) that was cancelled for one day and made possible vaccination of thousands of children. In February 1998, Kofi Annan seemed to have persuaded Bill Clinton not to bomb Iraq, but as we all know, bombing resumed on a new scale at the end of that year. As for some specific facts, we might remember the truce announcement which made possible for the members of both Korean delegations (North and South) to march jointly under the same flag at the Olympics, and the sportsmen of Afghanistan and Iraq (whose countries were at war at that moment) to participate in the Olympics in Athens. I think that’s all, there is much more negative historical experience. Vladimir Volfovich (Zhirinovsky) reminded us about it. Yes, I mean a treacherous attack on Ossetia before the opening of the Olympics in Beijing. Therefore, it is obvious that if we managed to link some significant event with the Sochi Olympics as a step forward to peacekeeping on our planet, it might attach a serious historical significance to the Olympics. Nowadays, over 70 armed conflicts are going on in the world, but if we estimate reality as it is (that is what Vasily Nickolaevich Likhachev was talking about today), it would be worth declaring the goals that are not only modest but also more realistic and complicated for implementation. I may say that party A JUST RUSSIA held a big job within the framework of the Socialist International (SI) with the help of Georgios Papandreou, the SI President who assumes that widespread approval of the given initiative at a high international level might compel the sides involved in the Syrian conflict consider the world community opinion. It is the point (in my opinion) where we must take the opportunities of the Committee on International Affairs, I mean, Sergey Evgenievich (Naryshkin), your opportunities as a member of the Security Council to aim our diplomatic corps (especially within the framework of peace conference Geneva-2) at finding some consensus and achieving at least a 24-hour ceasefire on (suppose) February 4 when the Olympic Wall of Truce is to be opened within the framework of the Sochi Olympic program. As for the humanitarian aspect, it is highly important to provide the international non-government organizations with an opportunity to deliver the humanitarian freights under protection of the UN convoys to the regions of Syria where delivery is impossible now. I think such a diplomatic breakthrough supported by an active initiative position of the Russian diplomacy might be a significant contribution into the history of the Olympic Truce movement. Of course, a 24-hour truce is a short but a very symbolic period. Moreover, the above-mentioned initiative will be in any way associated with the Sochi Olympics and come into the Olympics movement history. As for the essence of an armed standoff in Ukraine, I’d like to address Sergei Bubka, the Olympic Champion, the Chairman of the Ukraine National Olympic Committee with the following: I believe, he is an undisputable authority for the citizens of Ukraine, and his distinct call might be heard by people of Ukraine, no matter which side of the standoff they provide their physical or moral support. This appeal to the citizens of Ukraine might return the problems of the country back into the legal sphere for (at least) the period of the Sochi Olympics. Thank you or your attention.
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