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Russia to urge PACE sanctions against Georgia for disrupting observers' mandate - legislator

The Russian delegation to the PACE would demand the Council of Europe takes sanctions at the next meeting of the monitoring commission in Vienna in early November

MOSCOW, October 26 (Itar-Tass) - The head of the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will demand sanctions against Georgia for disrupting the mandate of Russian observers ahead of the upcoming presidential election, Russian State Duma member Vasily Likhachov told Itar-Tass Friday.

Likhachov and his colleague Sergey Kalashnikov were to go to Tbilisi as members of the PACE monitoring mission.

“We have not abdicated our mandates. We have been declared personae non gratae in Georgia. Should we appear at the border, we may face criminal and administrative sanctions,” Likhachov said. “This was clearly stated in the official documents the Georgian side referred to the PACE secretariat and the political group of the United Left.” He added Georgia said Russian deputies fell under the operation of the law On Occupied Territories for visiting Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Likhachov said it was an outrageous incident, which, he said with regret, was not the first and hardly the last. The Russian delegation to the PACE would demand the Council of Europe takes sanctions at the next meeting of the monitoring commission in Vienna in early November.

He added other national delegations might support the idea. PACE activities in Georgia can be then frozen for two years.

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