In Moscow they said whether they will take part in the June session of PACE
The Council of Europe will lose 90% of its legitimacy if the election of the organization's Secretary General is held without Russia's participation.
Leonid Slutsky, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, announced this in his blog, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
According to the parliamentarian, Russia can return to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe only if a mechanism is developed that prohibits the introduction of sanctions against members of this organization.
“We have said more than once that Russia can return to PACE only if amendments to the regulations are adopted to exclude sanctions provisions for depriving key powers of national delegations. And this is the main condition for resuming our work,” the politician said.
He also explained Russia's position point by point.
"First. The resolution adopted last week on the Tini Cox report makes it possible to formulate a “road map” for overcoming the crisis in Russia’s relations with PACE.
Second. Implementing the points of the Cox report, on May 17, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe may decide to create a joint structure with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which will deal with issues of countries in difficult or critical situations. I admit and consider it very probable that, within the framework of this design, a recommendation can be developed to the Standing Committee of the Assembly to amend the PACE regulations to exclude sanction clauses.
Third. In turn, the Postcom at a meeting in Paris on May 24 - the so-called mini-session of the assembly - may adopt a report and a resolution on changing the PACE regulations. This is within the full competence of the Standing Committee. And then all the prerequisites will be created for the return of the Russian delegation to Strasbourg.
Fourth. All that remains is for the PACE Bureau to decide that the powers of national delegations can be confirmed not once a year, but at each PACE session.
For now, this is all just theoretical. But if such a “road map” is implemented, then Russian parliamentarians will be able to take part in the June session of the assembly, where the election of a new Secretary General of the Council of Europe will take place. This is of key importance for our further cooperation with the organization, because otherwise its legitimacy will be lost by 90%,” said Slutsky.
Earlier, State Duma Deputy Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy stated that PACE leadership is currently attempting to amend the rules of procedure so that Russia can participate in the Assembly's Secretary General elections scheduled for this summer.
As a reminder, the Russian delegation suspended its participation in PACE meetings back in 2015, when the organization stripped it of its voting rights due to the events in Crimea. As a result, 70% of judges of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) were elected without Russia's participation. The Russian parliament also appealed to the Russian government to withhold its contribution to the Council of Europe.
Moscow announced whether it will participate in the June PACE session.