STRASBOURG, June 25. /TASS/. Parliamentarians from various countries show interest in interaction with members of the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), member of the Russian Federation Council (upper house) Andrei Yepishin told TASS on Tuesday.

According to Yepishin, the atmosphere at the PACE session hall is "very friendly." Many approached us and shook hands," he said. "Actually, we assumed that the attitude to us could be normal, but not so well-disposed."

"Everyone is sick and tired of all that, because this platform is used for a completely different purpose," he said, adding that "there is an obvious interest."

Yepishin noted that the Russian delegation was ready to join the assembly’s work as soon as its credentials were confirmed. "Unfortunately, due to the fact that [our delegation’s] credentials have been challenged, it is impossible for us to join full-scale work yet. I believe that, if everything goes according to plan, we will start immediately," he said.