BELGRADE, June 5. /TASS/. Russia counts on Serbia’s support in protecting the rights of the national delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), said Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, who is currently on a visit to Belgrade.

According to him, PACE needs some changes as its regulations "should be reviewed, taking into account that in accordance with the current rules, PACE is not an appropriate place for debate, since delegations may be deprived of their right to vote while their position may be neglected."

"There is a majority that is eligible to make decisions but each of the delegations, each of the PACE members has the right to have a point of view, and this right should be respected," Volodin pointed out. "PACE should ensure the implementation of this right. At present, we can say that it does not do that, which is wrong," he added.

The State Duma Speaker went on to say that Russia was not currently participating in the PACE activities because "our position is based on advocating inviolable rights." Volodin also said that such rights should be particularly protected in a parliamentary body. "As far as such issues go, including the protection of the people’s fundamental rights, we would like to count on the support of our partners from the Serbian National Assembly, so we could join our efforts to solve these issues," he stressed.