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Anti-Russian sanctions

Russian diplomat calls for further contacts with Council of Europe despite PACE attacks

According to Deputy Foreign Minister Alexey Meshkov, Russia souldn't pay any great attention to PACE’s attacks on Russia because the body’s political influence is small

© Mikhail Japaridze/TASS

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MOSCOW, November 11 /TASS/. Russia shouldn't pay any great attention to PACE’s attacks on Russia because the body’s political influence is small, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexey Meshkov said on Wednesday.

"I would not make a fetish of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Many European politicians and diplomats do not even know that it exists. They are interested in the executive power bodies," the Russian diplomat went on to say.

Meshkov, however, called for Russia’s ongoing contacts with the Council of Europe.

"Russia needs this organization," he said. "The reason for that is simple: this organization works out legal norms for the European continent; all European states take part in its work except for Belarus, which is still in the process of joining the organization," the Russian diplomat stressed.

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