The majority of deputies of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) are normal and constructive towards Russia, but they are manipulated by an anti-Russian minority.
Vice Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy stated this today from the rostrum of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“The rules are designed in such a way that a minority, mobilizing members of its delegations, successfully manipulates the assembly and regularly votes for anti-Russian resolutions with outrageous texts. These are Ukraine, Great Britain, the Baltic countries, Scandinavian countries, Poland. We must take this into account in our inter-parliamentary relations,” Tolstoy said.
According to him, the PACE leadership is now trying to change the regulations so that Russia can take part in the elections of the Assembly Secretary General, scheduled for the summer.
“Our non-participation will raise the question of the legitimacy of all bodies of the Council of Europe in relation to Russia. They are also concerned about our non-participation in the elections of judges, since this raises the question of the legitimacy of the decisions of the ECHR in Russia,” Tolstoy said.
Today the State Duma of the Russian Federation unanimously decided not to send a delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). In addition, the Russian parliament will appeal to the Russian government with a proposal not to transfer the contribution to the EU.