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No room for illegitimate Ukrainian parliament in European institutions, Russian MP says

MOSCOW, February 28. /ITAR-TASS/. A Ukrainian parliament functioning on an illegitimate basis cannot be represented in European parliamentary organizations, head of Russia’s State Duma committee for CIS affairs, Eurasian integration and ties with compatriots Leonid Slutsky told a parliamentary session on Friday.

Leonid Slutsky's assertion that Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada [parliament] "was acting on the basis of an illegitimate Constitution and adopting illegitimate bills" came a day after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's influential Monitoring Committee called on European parliamentary bodies to support the Rada as the legitimate base of power in Kiev.

Assembly members wanted delegations to be sent to Ukraine and a Rada representative invited to attend the European body's next session, Slutsky said, noting Russia's opposition to the initiative and announcing that “Russia's delegation to PACE will further promote this position among all parliamentary groups of the Assembly.

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