Matvienko in Saudi Arabia. Why do Russian female politicians wear hijabs to the Middle East: opinion. The trusteeship agreement to curb oil production has a future

(Kazan, May 26, Tatar-inform). Today, a presentation of the Tatar speech synthesizer took place at the Republican Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired. With its help, blind people will be able to work with any electronic information in the Tatar language. Similar products in other languages ​​have existed for many years, but now Tatars with limited vision will be able to send letters, correspond on social networks and read news in their native language.

“Several years ago, a team of developers - philologists from our university, programmers - began working on a project for a Tatar speech synthesizer. And today I am very glad that we managed to make such a product that the Tatars needed,” noted the initiator of the creation of the synthesizer, director of the library for the blind and visually impaired Nail Safargaleev during the presentation.

“We will actively distribute the speech synthesizer among the blind; we are currently exploring distribution options. Visitors to our library have already tried out the capabilities of the synthesizer. Soon, I think, we will make it available for free download from our website,” he said.

According to project expert Eduard Ibragimov, the synthesizer is a module that is connected to a program that helps blind people work with computers. It voices completed actions, reads the names of buttons and links that the user clicks, reproduces all information on sites - articles, comments, texts of letters and messages.

“Finally, Tatar will join the family of other language modules working on the RHVoice platform,” Eduard Ibragimov demonstrated how, using a module installed on a laptop, he reads articles on the Azatlyk Radio website. - For now it only works on Windows, but in the future it will definitely appear on mobile devices running Android. It will also be on Apple, although, of course, these devices are the most difficult.”

The synthesizer “speaks” in the voice of People’s Artist of Tatarstan Talgat Khamatshin. According to library visitors, they had previously had the opportunity to voice Tatar texts using Russian-language synthesizers. “But, of course, they cannot convey Tatar speech correctly: many sounds that are not in the Russian language are simply not voiced! “- explained synthesizer tester Rifkat Gardiev.

Latest news from Tatarstan on the topic:
A Tatar speech synthesizer for the blind was presented in Kazan

A Tatar speech synthesizer for the blind has been developed in Kazan- Kazan

Talking synthesizer, in Tatar language. The only development in the world that will allow the blind and visually impaired to hear their native speech and write in their native language.
00:12 27.05.2017 State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company Tatarstan

A Tatar speech synthesizer for the blind was presented in Kazan- Kazan

With the help of this program, blind and visually impaired people will be able to send letters, correspond on social networks and read news in the Tatar language.
17:22 26.05.2017 IA Tatar-inform

The visit of Federation Council Chairman Valentina Matvienko to Riyadh was devoted to a discussion of the Vienna agreements on reducing oil production and investment cooperation between Russia and Saudi Arabia. She discussed the entire range of bilateral relations with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud.

At the end of the meeting, the speaker of the upper house of the Russian parliament noted that Saudi Arabia and the Russian Federation had already fully fulfilled their obligations under the Vienna agreements. At the same time, Moscow highly appreciates Riyadh’s role in the agreement between OPEC and a number of other oil-producing states.

“We can say that Russia and Saudi Arabia acted as guarantors of the implementation of this agreement. To give it its due, Saudi Arabia has fully fulfilled its obligations, just like Russia, to reduce oil production. And I am sure that this cooperation will continue further, because no one is interested in this being such a chaotic development of events,” Matvienko summed up the negotiations.

In addition, the Speaker of the Federation Council discussed with the Saudi leadership other aspects of economic relations between the two states.

“Naturally, we also discussed the issue of military-technical cooperation, cooperation in the field of energy, nuclear energy, and agriculture. That is, those promising areas in which we can increase the volume of mutual trade turnover and add dynamics to our relations. They positively assess the cooperation between the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia,” said Matvienko.

King Salman, according to her, drew attention to the need to involve large businesses in mutual cooperation. The plans of the Chairman of the Federation Council include meetings with representatives of the kingdom's business circles.

The receiving party paid special attention to the outfit in which Valentina Matvienko held the negotiations. She received compliments from Saudi Arabian officials for her strict dark green floor-length dress and headscarf. The appearance of the Speaker of the Federation Council was fully consistent with the traditions of the Middle Eastern state.

“There is a diplomatic culture. If you come to another country, then you must respect traditions and religious characteristics. This is an indispensable condition of etiquette, as well as a manifestation of internal culture,” Matvienko emphasized at a press conference in Riyadh. – Today, women deputies of the Advisory Council came up to me, they especially emphasized and thanked me for my respectful attitude towards the traditions of Saudi Arabia. They thanked me for the green dress and said that green was their color.”

According to the Speaker of the Federation Council, “diplomatic patterns are embroidered from such little things.”

However, she did not comment on the appearance of British Prime Minister Theresa May, which caused bewilderment among the Saudis during her recent visit to Riyadh. The British leader then, we recall, left the plane with her head uncovered. Matvienko avoided discussing the British Prime Minister’s suit, noting that she was only talking about herself. :///

April visit of the head of the Russian Federation Council Valentina Matvienko to Saudi Arabia has attracted the attention of observers. The occasion was Matvienko’s meeting with the King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, to which the senator came wearing a headscarf.

“There is a diplomatic culture,” Matvienko explained her action to TASS, “when you come to another country, you must respect the culture, traditions, religious peculiarities, and this is an indispensable condition not only, if you like, of diplomatic etiquette, but it is also internal culture. If you treat with disdain, then no confidential, respectful dialogue will work. Yes, they will endure everything, accept everything, but a residue will remain in their souls.”

Let us note that Matvienko is not the only Russian politician who, when traveling to the Middle East, changes her dress code in accordance with local ideas about the norm. At the beginning of February, the new outfit of the head of the Investment Development Agency of the Republic caused a great resonance among the residents of Tatarstan. Talia Minnullina, which, as part of the official delegation from Kazan, arrived at the Tatarstan - Saudi Arabia business forum. The official wore a black hijab and a long dress, which even religiously active Muslim women in Tatarstan do not wear (they prefer light colors). And all this was done in order to present the investment potential of Tatarstan to the Arab sheikhs. In the comments to publications with Minnullina’s photo, they joked for a long time: if you go to Africa to present the potential of Tatarstan, should you wear a loincloth?

The desire to please the Middle Eastern sheikhs, which appeared among Russian female politicians, officials or businesswomen (the wife of the ex-mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkova Elena Baturina in October 2016, while visiting Iran, she also wore a hijab), a marked contrast to the way Western female politicians behave when visiting the Middle East.

I would like to note that the US secretaries of state, who are little respected in Russia, Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice And Hillary Clinton When going to Muslim countries, they never wore hijabs. It is possible that they did not even think about it. However, the Arab sheikhs respectfully shook their hands and negotiated calmly. At the same time, I would venture to suggest that the ladies were of little interest in whether the sheikhs still had a bad feeling in their souls, but the state interests of the United States always remained at the top.

Condoleezza Rice. Photo: up.graaam.com

Foreign female politicians popular in Russia today behave in the same way. For example, when during the visit of the leader of the French National Front Marine Le Pen in Lebanon, among others, her meeting with the Grand Mufti of Lebanon was planned Abdul Latif, the Mufti's protocol office indicated that Le Pen would have to wear a hijab. Upon learning of this, Le Pen succinctly replied: “Give my deepest respect to the mufti, but I am not going to close my head.” Here a lot becomes clear, including regarding “diplomatic culture”.

I am sure that the Arab sheikhs did not make it an ironclad condition for the meeting that Valentina Matvienko and Talia Minnullina change their wardrobes. And here the question arises: did following the canons of Islam help in achieving state interests?

The press talks sparingly about the results of Matvienko’s visit to Saudi Arabia. It seemed like they were talking about everything and nothing, the only thing that was specifically discussed was the possibility of organizing a tour of the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra under the direction of Valeria Gergieva, the Bolshoi Theater troupe and other creative groups. True, there is a mystery here: theaters and concerts are officially banned in Saudi Arabia. And it’s strange that the third person in Russia, who formally is Valentina Matvienko, discusses tours of creative groups with the head of a foreign state.

When Talia Minnullina went to Saudi Arabia, it was clear that they were counting on the fact that the Saudis would start investing in the economy of Tatarstan. Here you won’t even put on something that will give you money... However, the events with the banking crisis in the republic even then called into question the reliability of investment, and even before the Arabs were not noticed in the desire to invest in the economy of this Russian region.

Perhaps this is still a property of the soul of Russian women who have achieved high government positions - to follow the secret desires of a man in everything. But in government positions it is still desirable to act in the interests of the state.

Aidar Mubarakzyanov, political scientist, Kazan

The Speaker of the Federation Council is confident that OPEC countries will extend the agreement to reduce oil production

Photo by the press service of the Federation Council

The King of Saudi Arabia accepted Vladimir Putin's invitation and may visit Moscow this year - during a meeting with Valentina Matvienko, he repeated several times about his country's interest in friendship with Russia. The speaker of the Federation Council summed up the results of the meeting with top officials of Saudi Arabia during an official visit to Riyadh.

Assad's fate is Syria's business and no one else's

In countries with an absolute monarchy, meeting the king is a special case. Saudi Arabia is no exception, which is why the meeting with the Arabian king, 81-year-old King Salman Bin Abdelaziz Al Saud, became a landmark visit of the Federation Council delegation led by Valentina Matvienko. Note that the sole ruler of the SA, who inherited the royal throne in January 2015, appoints members of the Shura Council for four years, with final decisions on all state issues remaining with him. And in one of the huge buildings of the parliamentary complex, he holds meetings with other kings of the Islamic world.

The king repeatedly emphasized during the meeting with the Russian speaker that the SA is interested in cooperation with Russia. The ruler accepted Vladimir Putin's invitation to visit Moscow. Valentina Matvienko reported that this is possible already this year: “In our presence, he has already given the necessary instructions to the government to prepare the content of this visit. I would like to note that this management style, the king’s focus on a specific result, made a great positive impression on me.”

Answering questions from journalists following meetings with representatives of the royal family of Saudi Arabia, Valentina Matvienko commented on the results of conversations with the leadership of the SA on the topic of Middle Eastern conflicts. Special topics are the wars in Syria and Yemen. The Russian speaker noted that the Russian position did not meet with any counterarguments, including regarding US airstrikes in Syria. We have different positions on many problems, but this does not put us on different sides of the barricades - the Russian speaker is completely sure of this. “We know the position of our colleagues that there will be no peace in Syria as long as Bashar al-Assad remains there. But Russia does not aim to preserve Assad at any cost, but we are against interference in the affairs of sovereign countries from the outside. Who will come to power in Syria if Assad leaves? Either the country will collapse, or an even more violent civil war will continue,” she explained Russia’s position.

The Saudi authorities also understand that it is necessary to implement the UN resolution, which sets out the “road map” for a political settlement in Syria. Valentina Matvienko reported that the leadership of the SA confirmed to Russian senators during the visit that the country's authorities support compliance with international law. As for the “forgotten war” in Yemen, where 17 million residents were left without food and without help, then, according to the Russian speaker, the head of the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry assured that his country believes that there is no military solution here. But the truce proposals are not working. “This is a very difficult situation - the SA is interested in ending this crisis as quickly as possible. But the situation in Yemen is no less complicated than in Iraq and Syria,” she noted.

OPEC agreement to curb oil production has a future

It's no secret that SA's economy is based on oil revenues - they make up 90 percent of export earnings and 80 percent of budget revenues. It is this area, as experts note, that will most likely become an area of ​​interaction in the search for political compromises. So far, Russia’s trade turnover with Saudi Arabia has decreased threefold at the end of 2016, amounting to only $351 million. Valentina Matvienko, meanwhile, reported on positive trends - projects worth $600 million are being implemented through the national investment funds of the two countries, and by the end of the year this amount will increase by another $3 billion.

One of the pressing questions is whether Russia and SA will be able to agree within OPEC to maintain oil production volumes for another six months. “We discussed this topic at a reception with the king - Saudi Arabia played a big role in reaching this agreement, and together with the Russian Federation acted as a guarantor of its compliance. I am sure that this cooperation will continue in the future - our countries are on the same position here,” she noted. And she added that King Salman is interested in involving big business in relations between the two countries.

As Valentina Matvienko noted, the king drew attention to the fact that private business must be involved as much as possible in the development of promising areas of cooperation. “We also think so, which is why we are holding a meeting in Riyadh within the framework of the Russian-Saudi Business Council with representatives of Saudi Arabian business,” she said.

The Saudis are interested in the “peaceful atom”

Saudi politicians themselves make statements according to which they are committed to getting closer to Russia - the Arabians view our country as a strategic partner. This, in particular, was noted by Faiz Al-Shahri, head of the bilateral “friendship group” between parliaments. And this concerns not only the oil and gas industry, but also, for example, nuclear energy - here there is a desire to learn from Russia to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Moreover, cooperation on “peaceful atoms,” as stated by the head of the Commission for Economic and Energy Affairs of the Shura Council, Abdurrahman Al-Rashid, is a priority for the Saudis.

Now all words must move to the substantive plane - speaking about the need to achieve concrete results on intergovernmental agreements, Valentina Matvienko, at a meeting with the head of the Saudi Foreign Ministry Adel Jubeir, recalled the Arabic proverb “A promise is a cloud, its fulfillment is rain.”

And the hope that it will shed light on the rocky ground of relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia has increased after the visit of Russian senators to Riyadh. It was after the meeting with the speaker (or rather, right during this meeting!) that King Salman gave instructions to prepare his visit to Moscow - this is a significant moment for bilateral diplomacy.

Vice Speaker of the Federation Council Ilyas Umakhanov, who has visited the country more than once, especially noted that our delegation was received with the emphatic respect that is accorded to guests of the highest level. But Senator Murat Hapsirokov also drew attention to this. In a conversation with a correspondent of the Parliamentary Newspaper, he noted that one area of ​​contact where the two countries can really cooperate in the future is agriculture. In this direction, as the legislator is confident, we could make great progress - both from the point of view of our readiness to supply products, and from the point of view of the SA’s interest in investing. This direction is all the more interesting due to the fact that Arabia wants to abandon wheat production by 2018. “In terms of the cost of growing wheat in a desert climate, it turns out to be “golden” for them; it is more profitable to purchase,” explained Murat Hapsirokov. - In our country, everything is in perfect order with wheat production, cattle breeding, poultry farming are developing, we produce fruits and vegetables. I know that some colleagues have already invited Saudi businessmen and parliamentarians to the constituent entities of the Russian Federation - I am sure that we have an excellent foundation for establishing cooperation here. We certainly have mutual interest with Saudi Arabia.”

How to embroider diplomatic patterns

Summing up the results of the visit was not complete without the topic of observing the traditions of the host country - unlike Valentina Matvienko, British Prime Minister Theresa May, who also visited Riyadh, did not cover her head with a headscarf - this caused a negative reaction in Saudi society. “In another country, a diplomat must respect culture and traditions. This is also a question of internal culture: if you treat such things with disdain, then a confidential dialogue will not work. Not judging anyone else, but for me this is organic behavior.

She also spoke about one detail - after the meeting in the Shura Council, female parliamentarians approached Valentina Matvienko. And each of them thanked the Russian speaker for showing respect for tradition by covering her head with a scarf and choosing the color of her dress green. These are the little things from which, as Valentina Matvienko puts it, “diplomatic patterns are embroidered” and relationships of high level of trust.

In addition to Ilyas Umakhanov and Murat Khapsirokov, the Russian delegation in Riyadh was represented by senators Nikolai Zhuravlev, Alexander Babakov and Belan Khamchiev. “We managed to implement the plans that we had before the visit. Our goal was to intensify work between the parliaments of the two countries - we were convinced of the interest of our Saudi colleagues in this. In general, A is very favorable towards the arrival of the leaders of the regions of Russia. We have a very positive impression of the trip - the leadership of the SA made us understand in every possible way that for them Russia is a friendly country,” summed up Valentina Matvienko.