MOSCOW, January 18. State Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin at the meeting of the Duma have informed that the Russian delegation will not attend January session of the parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). This was reported to journalists by Deputy house speaker from the LDPR Igor Lebedev.
“Naryshkin said in January, definitely not going,” said Lebedev, answering the question of whether you discussed this topic on the Council of the Duma.
Previously a member of the Russian delegation to PACE, the head of the Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian integration and relations with compatriots Leonid Slutsky said that the Russian delegation will miss the winter session of the PACE.
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Slutsky: the delegation of the Russian Federation will miss the winter session of PACE
“At the present time at the head of the PACE Anne Brasseur sent a letter signed by the speakers of the chambers of the Russian Parliament that the powers of the Russian delegation for 2016 will be requested at a later date. January session we’ll miss,” he informed Slutsky.
On Saturday, a source familiar with the situation, reported that on 15 January under the rules of the Assembly had expired, when national delegations were supposed to submit a list of their compositions for the participation in the session of 2016. “The delegation of the Russian Federation such lists are not sent”, – said the Agency interlocutor.
The Russian delegation in PACE in April 2014 was deprived of substantive powers because of the events in Ukraine and the reunification of the Crimea with Russia. In 2015 the Assembly has twice considered the question of the restoration of the Russian delegation in her rights, but sanctions still remain: Russia deprived of voting rights and participation the work of the governing bodies of the Assembly and its monitoring missions to observe elections in the CE space. In response, Russia stated that ties suspend its involvement in PACE activity until the end of 2015. The leadership of the Russian delegation has repeatedly stated that she will be back to PACE only when removed from all sanctions.
PACE winter session will be held in Strasbourg from 25 to 29 January 2016.
