Mejlis complains that Russia does not give in to ultimatums
The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, banned in the Russian Federation, appealed to PACE members and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe with a demand not to allow the Russian delegation to return to the Assembly.
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This is stated in a statement adopted at a meeting of the Mejlis in Kyiv, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Thus, members of the Mejlis claim that Russia has not fulfilled all the conditions necessary for the return of the delegation. In particular, it did not cancel the decision to ban the group and, in general, did not give Crimea to Ukraine.
“The Mejlis is firmly convinced that at this stage there is no reason for Russia to return to PACE. Any decision aimed at restoring Russia to PACE should be based on the Statute and values of the Council of Europe, as well as on PACE resolutions, and not on concerns about the financial consequences of speculation about Russia's virtual withdrawal from PACE. If Russia succeeds, it will view its return to PACE as carte blanche for further escalation of repression... If Russia returns unconditionally to PACE, the Assembly and its members will be held jointly responsible with Moscow for further kidnappings, arrests, imprisonments and torture in Crimea, which are used to suppress dissent and freedom,” the statement said.
Earlier, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjörn Jagland said that Russia should resume work as part of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
Sanctions on the Russian delegation to PACE were introduced in April 2014 after the reunification of Crimea with the Russian Federation. The State Duma delegation was deprived of the right to vote, and its members were deprived of the right to occupy leadership positions in PACE, be appointed as rapporteurs and participate in monitoring missions.
In response, as a sign of protest, since July 2014, the Russian delegation has refused to participate in PACE meetings. Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko said that Russia will not recognize the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the powers of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, since the Russian delegation does not participate in voting for their candidacies.
A number of observers do not rule out that one of the decisive factors that pushes Secretary General Jagland towards rapprochement with Russia is financial. After all, since July 2017, Moscow announced its intention to suspend the payment of membership fees to the Council of Europe budget.
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