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Russian, German, French leaders favor return of Russian delegation to PACE

The Kremlin said that "the leaders of the three countries spoke in favor of the settlement of the situation in the Council of Europe"

© EPA-EFE/PATRICK SEEGER

MOSCOW, May 21. /TASS/. In a telephone conversation on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke in favor of the settlement of the situation with the Russian delegation stripped of the right to vote at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Kremlin press service said.

Read also

Kremlin: Russia will remain in PACE only on equal conditions with other members

"The leaders of the three countries spoke in favor of the settlement of the situation in the Council of Europe after the Russian delegation was illegitimately stripped of the key rights in the Parliamentary Assembly," the Kremlin said.

"Given the results of a session of the CE Committee of Ministers in Helsinki on May 17 and France’s chairmanship of this committee, the principled line was emphasized towards restoring in full the rights of the Russian delegation to PACE," the press service added.

The debate on Russia's membership in the Council of Europe has been ongoing for five years. In response to Crimea's reunification with Russia in 2014, PACE stripped Russia of several key rights, including the right to vote. Moscow responded with the refusal to send delegations to PACE. Russia also stopped making membership contributions to the Council of Europe in the summer of 2017.

On May 21, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said that the Russian delegation may participate in the PACE session in June.

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