MOSCOW. April 12 (Interfax) - Russia will continue organizing joint trips to Syria with members of the European Parliament (MEPs) so they can assess the situation in that country on site, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said on Tuesday.
"We will be practicing this further," Matviyenko said at a meeting with Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, the Speaker of the People's Council (parliament) of Syria.
Russia's Federal Assembly - State Duma and the Federation Council - is doing everything for parliamentarians of the world to know the true state of affairs in Syria, Matviyenko said.
"We have already organized several such trips to Syria, which involved State Duma deputies, Federation Council members and European parliamentarians. On their return, deputies from European countries, MEPs, gave a completely different assessment of what is going on in Syria," the speaker of the Russian parliament's upper house said.
Russia's position on the need to join efforts to fight terrorism in Syria remains invariable, she said.
"We will further make all efforts to support the Syrian people in the fight against terrorism," Matviyenko said.
Russia strongly condemns the U.S. missile strike against the Syrian airbase, considering it to be a gross violation of international law and an act of aggression against the sovereign state of Syria, Matviyenko said.
Federation Council senators are planning to adopt a statement condemning these U.S. actions at a plenary session on Wednesday, Matviyenko said.