MOSCOW, February 2 (Sputnik) – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has "flogged itself" in banning Russia from voting in the organization over its alleged involvement in the situation in Ukraine, which has also lost a lot as a result of PACE's decision, head of the Russian delegation Alexei Pushkov has announced.
"The Parliamentary Assembly excluded itself from the process of resolving the Ukrainian crisis and from the dialogue with Russia on Ukraine," Pushkov said Sunday in an evening program on the Russia-1 TV channel, adding that the assembly has "flogged itself" as it has now lost "Russia — the key player on the European continent".
"Ukraine has lost the most," Pushkov stressed, adding that it had hoped to exert pressure on Russia through PACE, to use the organization in its political interests.
"We left and Kiev started to understand that they…have lost PACE as an instrument. So Ukraine lost the most," Pushkov added.
Last week PACE deprived the Russian delegation of voting rights until April over Russia's alleged involvement in the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, where Kiev has launched a military operation against independence supporters of the southeastern regions.
Pushkov has stated that Russia, which has repeatedly stressed that it is not involved in the situation in Ukraine, was suspending its work in PACE until the end of the year in response to the decision.
