The Russian delegation to PACE was banned from moving around Strasbourg
The Russian delegation at the PACE session was prohibited from free movement in Strasbourg due to the fact that the EU does not recognize vaccination with the Russian drug Sputnik V.
State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin wrote about this on his Telegram channel, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“This is an unfair decision, first of all, in relation to our citizens. They elected their deputies who represent their interests and the interests of the country. Such decisions are not made by chance, but with a specific goal - to lobby for the product of large pharmaceutical companies - American and European. This is an attempt to politicize the process of recognizing vaccines,” the Russian politician noted.
He recalled that the Russian vaccine is recognized in 70 countries and demanded that the delegation be allowed into the Parliamentary Assembly. Otherwise, the Russian Federation will not take part in the PACE meeting.
“PACE must decide: either it is a place for discussion, guided by law and standards, or it is a lobbying organization acting in the interests of pharmaceutical companies and promoting those vaccines that are beneficial to them,” writes Volodin.
The speaker was supported by the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky.
“Restrictions on movement around Strasbourg for members of the Russian delegation are a form of “vaccine discrimination.” Such a decision contradicts the agreement on privileges and immunities of the Council of Europe and violates the principle of equality. I’m sure it won’t go without a proper reaction,” Slutsky wrote.
A day earlier, Slutsky himself was unable to attend the UN General Assembly because the United States did not grant him a visa, the only one from the Russian delegation. The deputy connected this with the fact that he was under American sanctions and recalled that in past years, members of the Russian delegation no longer received American visas.
“Once again, the United States has violated its obligations as the host country of UN headquarters and abused visa restrictions. If such things continue, it’s probably worth considering moving the UN headquarters from New York,” Slutsky said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel.
The Russian delegation to PACE was banned from moving around Strasbourg.