Pushkov doubts Russian delegation's attendance of PACE sessions in June, October
MOSCOW. June 6 (Interfax) - The head of the State Duma International Affairs Committee, Alexei Pushkov, has not ruled out that the Russian delegation will not attend a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) not only in June but in October too unless the organization lifts its sanctions.
Pushkov, who chairs the Russian delegation to the PACE, was commenting on a telephone conversation between State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin and PACE President Anne Brasseur, the Committee said in a statement.
"As you know, the Russian delegation has refused to attend the PACE's June session because of the sanctions passed against it, which put it into a discriminatory position and rule out a possibility of equal cooperation with the PACE. In a conversation with the State Duma Chairman Anne Brasseur suggested that Russia change its position and still send its delegation to the next PACE session. In reply, Sergei Naryshkin reaffirmed the invariability of the Russian approach: the attendance by the Russian delegation of PACE sessions and full-scale cooperation with this organization will only be possible after the lifting of the sanctions," Pushkov was quoted as saying by the Committee's spokesperson.
Thus, "the idea of the PACE leadership to maintain a semblance of dialogue with Russia while directly discriminating against it has been rejected by Russia," Pushkov said.
"In practice, it means that if the PACE position remains unchanged, it cannot be ruled out that the Russian delegation will not attend a PACE session not only in June but in October as well, because the sanctions were imposed until the end of 2014. With the sentiments currently dominating both within the PACE and among political circles in most European Union countries, it is virtually impossible to expect the sanctions to be lifted any time soon," the parliamentarian said.
He said the Russian delegation will not have its full mandate returned before January 2015 when mandates are reissued to all the national delegations.
"Regrettably, so far we see no reason to believe that there have been some noticeable shifts in the PACE position on these matters. I would like to hope that under the pressure of undeniable facts, as well as the efforts of those who are trying to tell European parliamentarians the truth about the events that are happening, such shifts will start taking place, thus opening up a path towards normalization of the PACE-Russia relationship," Pushkov said.
