The Duma saw the approaching moment of truth in relations with PACE
The moment of truth in further cooperation between Russia and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will come very soon, perhaps as early as next week.
This was stated by the head of the State Duma Committee on Foreign Affairs, Leonid Slutsky, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to him, PACE Secretary General Wojciech Sawicki sent a letter to the State Duma with a proposal to form a Russian delegation to participate in the work of the assembly in 2019.
“We will, of course, study this information very carefully and in detail. We will not extrapolate far ahead, but will compare all points of view with the Russian Foreign Ministry, hold consultations with the Federation Council and develop a collegial position, which will be sent to Strasbourg as a response to the appeal of Secretary General Savitsky,” Slutsky wrote in his telegram channel..
According to the parliamentarian, on January 15, the State Duma Committee on International Affairs is ready to meet for a special extended meeting on this issue, and then on January 16, bring it to a meeting of the Duma Council, which, in turn, will have to determine whether or not to form a Russian delegation to Strasbourg. I do not rule out that this topic will also be brought up to the plenary meeting on January 17, where representatives of all political factions will have the opportunity to speak out about Russia’s further participation in PACE.
“Personally, I don’t yet see any big prerequisites for the return of our delegation to the assembly. Petra de Sutter's report did not provide the key to solving the problem in relations between Moscow and Strasbourg. There are no specific recommendations for introducing amendments to the PACE regulations to abolish sanctions clauses that would allow entire national delegations to be deprived of key powers. It is these changes that Russia insisted on, and they are the basis for the resumption of our cooperation. And until such amendments are made, the institutional crisis in the Council of Europe, unfortunately, will continue,” Slutsky concluded.
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