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Russian lawmaker says Russian should not quit CoE but react to provocations toughly

In his words, Russia should use all possible formats to promote the Russian president’s foreign policy agenda

MOSCOW, April 19. /TASS/. Russia should not withdraw from the Council of Europe but it must give tough and adequate response to provocations inside the organization, Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the international committee of the Russian State Duma lower parliament house, said on Monday.

"Obviously, they are seeking to provoke us to shut the door and withdraw from the Council of Europe. And in this case, we lose a European organization with the widest outreach. Of course, we should react and do it toughly and adequately. But should we withdraw from the Council of Europe, should we bring grist to the mill of our, as I call them, ‘strategic friend in the West,’ who are our geopolitical opponents as a matter of fact and who are only waiting for us to shut the door in Strasbourg? I am not sure we should. But the final decision, naturally, is up to the Russian leadership," he said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel.

In his words, Russia should use all possible formats to promote the Russian president’s foreign policy agenda. "We should do it even where we find it distressing and annoying to work," Slutsky stressed.

The spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) opened in Strasbourg on April 19. It will be held in a mixed format amid the coronavirus restrictions.

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