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Council of Europe Sec-Gen meetings in Moscow to focus on cooperation with Russia

STRASBOURG, November 27. /TASS/. Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland will meet with Russian officials in Moscow for talks on the development of cooperation between the Council of Europe and Russia.

Jagland’s working visit will last till November 28.

The agenda of the visit is vast. The Council of Europe has its office in Moscow and its task is to implement concrete programmes of cooperation in different fields, Jagland said, adding that these issues would be raised during the talks.

The Council of Europe press service said the Secretary-General will have meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov and Russian Commissioner for Human Rights Ella Pamfilova.

Jagland is also expected to talk with representatives of the civil society, head of the Moscow Helsinki Group Lyudmila Alexeyeva and visit the headquarters of the Russian Memorial Society, the press service said.

While in Moscow, Jagland can touch on the situation in eastern Ukraine. On Tuesday, November 25, he said the wall, which is being built on the Russian-Ukrainian border, was unacceptable.

The wall destroys the fate of people and their families. This is unacceptable. It is necessary to strengthen an idea of “Common European Home”, he said.

Jagland’s visit to Moscow will be held amid the disagreements between the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Russian delegation. In April, following Crimea's accession to Russia, PACE deprived the Russian delegation of the right to vote at assembly sessions. Russia was removed from the group's leading posts and banned from participation in its observation missions. Following this move, Russia's delegation suspended its work in the assembly until the end of the year.

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