Pushkov: Possible PACE encroachment on Russian delegation's rights to deplete intl role of Assembly
MOSCOW. April 24 (Interfax) - A possible decision of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to fully deprive the Russian delegation of its rights until the end of this year, which may be made in June, will continue to deplete PACE's role, State Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Alexei Pushkov said.
"If the decision to fully deprive us of powers is made, it will exacerbate the crisis in our relations with PACE. It will give nothing to the Parliamentary Assembly, which has already isolated itself from Russia and turned into a lower-tier organization whose role in the debate on the Ukraine crisis is zero," Pushkov said at a State Duma sitting on Friday.
Appeals for depriving Russia of all rights in the Assembly until the end of this year have been made in PACE, he said. So far, the rights of the Russian delegation to the Assembly are limited, he added. PACE President Anne Brasseur said lately that the possibility to deprive Russia of powers until the end of the year was on the table and a decision to that effect might be made in June.
"There will no fundamental change if they follow this path because the validity of the sanctions will expire in 2016 but the move will demonstrate that the PACE majority stubbornly sticks to its aggressive position and draws absolutely no conclusions from the ongoing events," the committee chairman remarked.