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Russian delegate urges PACE to voice ‘resolute protest’ over sanctions on MPs

Deputy head of the Russian delegation to PACE said Europe should not produce a mirror reflection “of what is being done in the US, which is systematically creating a one-polar world”

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (archive) EPA/PARICK SEEGER

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (archive)

© EPA/PARICK SEEGER

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Russia’s withdrawal from PACE will complicate relations — Russian delegation head

STRASBOURG, April 07. /ITAR-TASS/. The deputy head of the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has urged the Assembly to voice ‘a resolute protest’ over adding parliamentarians to the list of sanctions.

“We must make a resolute stand against this discrimination,” Leonid Slutsky told a PACE session, referring to the European Union’s list of sanctions.

He said Europe should not produce a mirror reflection “of what is being done in the US, which is systematically creating a one-polar world”. Slutsky, who is the chairman of the Russian lower house’s Committee for CIS Affairs, urged PACE to think twice about that, and express its “resolute protest”.

The Russian delegation will leave the current session of PACE if it votes for any sanctions against Russian parliamentarians, Slutsky said.

“If the resolution contains any sanctions, we will most likely leave Strasbourg as a sign of protest. This is the position of the Russian delegation,” he said.

Slutsky himself was blacklisted by the US, EU and Canada, where visa and financial restrictions were imposed on him in connection with Crimea’s accession to Russia.

In Strasbourg, the Russian parliamentarian takes part in a spring session of PACE as member of a European parliamentary organization, having immunity for the time of official international events.

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