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Russian State Duma speaker hopes PACE will confirm its pan-European status under Agramunt

The first PACE session in 2017 opened in Strasbourg on January 23 without the Russian delegation
President of the Council of Europe, Pedro Agramunt EPA/PATRICK SEEGER
President of the Council of Europe, Pedro Agramunt
© EPA/PATRICK SEEGER

MOSCOW, January 24. /TASS/. Speaker of Russia’s State Duma (lower house of parliament), Vyacheslav Volodin, has congratulated Pedro Agramunt on his re-election as President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and expressed the hope that the assembly will confirm its pan-European status during his presidency, the State Duma said on its website on Tuesday.

"We hope that under your leadership the assembly of all 47 Council of Europe member-countries will be able to confirm its special status as Europe’s most inclusive parliamentary organization," the note of congratulations said.

Agramunt was re-elected automatically on January 23. The Spanish politician was the only candidate for the post of the assembly’s president.

Pedro Agramunt was first elected PACE President in January 2016 replacing Anne Brasseur. The PACE president is elected for a term of one year with the right to be re-elected for a second one-year term. The first PACE session in 2017 opened in Strasbourg on January 23 without the Russian delegation.