MOSCOW, June 1. /TASS/. Chairman of the Russian State Duma (lower house) Foreign Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky did not rule out the Russian delegation’s participation in the June session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), but for this to happen, the assembly should make a decision on the inadmissibility of sanctions against national delegations.
"I admit that Russia’s delegation could take part in the June session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. We will go there, if the PACE Committee on Rules of Procedure and the assembly itself will make a relevant decision on the inadmissibility of imposing sanctions on national delegations on the first day of the session’s work," he told reporters on Saturday.
According to Slutsky, intense negotiations with members of European political forces are in progress. "In particular, a conversation with leader of the Unified European Left Group Tiny Kox took place recently. I do not rule out that a meeting between Russian lawmakers and PACE’s top officials could be held after the meeting of the (PACE) Committee on Rules and Procedure. So far, the tone and nature of discussions indicate the growing likelihood of a constructive decision," he pointed out.
Slutsky stressed that PACE’s potential decision to abandon sanctions against national delegations would benefit both Russia and the Council of Europe in order "to preserve its role in the new 21st-century architecture."
"As you remember, the Council of Europe Secretary General will be elected at the June session. Russia’s participation in the election is important for continuing legitimate cooperation with that organization. This is understood by Moscow and, I hope by Strasbourg too," he concluded.
Russia and PACE
In April 2014, the Russian delegation to PACE was stripped of its key rights, including the right to vote and take part in the assembly’s governing bodies, following the developments in Ukraine and Crimea. The issue of restoring the Russian delegation’s rights was raised at PACE twice in 2015, but instead the sanctions were only tightened.
In response, Russia suspended its participation in PACE’s activities until the end of 2015. In 2016-2018, Russia skipped the parliamentary assembly’s meetings due to the ongoing sanctions and did not renew its credentials because of anti-Russian sentiment in Strasbourg.
On October 10, 2018, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland told the PACE autumn session that the organization's Committee of Ministers would have to expel Russia from the Council’s decision-making bodies - the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly - if the country did not make any monetary contributions. In response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pointed out that Moscow would quit the Council of Europe if it insisted on Russia's expulsion.
In January 2019, both houses of Russia’s parliament - the State Duma and the Federation Council - unanimously approved statements, which suggested not sending the Russian delegation to the PACE session in 2019. In addition, the State Duma upheld the move to suspend the payment of the country’s contribution. In the wake of the Russia-PACE crisis, the issue of Russia’s Council of Europe membership has been raised more than once.
The PACE summer session where the new Council of Europe secretary general is to be elected will be held in Strasbourg on June 24-28. The issue of national delegations’ credentials will be raised at a meeting of the PACE Committee on Rules of Procedure on June 3.