OSCE PA has no information about Kanerva's possible visit to Russia
MOSCOW. July 6 (Interfax) - The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has not confirmed the possibility of OSCE PA President Ilkka Kanerva's visit to Russia.
Assembly spokesman Richard Solash told Interfax on Monday he did not have such information.
A number of media outlets said earlier that Kanerva might visit Russia and Ukraine in order to launch an inter-parliamentary contact group.
However, a source familiar with the situation told Interfax that in the event of his visit to Moscow Kanerva might try to stifle the scandal caused by the denial of State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin's travel to Finland to attend the summer session of the Assembly.
The Assembly is holding the summer session in Helsinki from 5-9 July. State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin was due to lead the Russian delegation to the session. The Finnish Foreign Ministry denied entry to Russian parliamentary members blacklisted by the European Union. All members of the Russian delegation retaliated against this decision by refusing to attend the session.
