HELSINKI (Sputnik), Svetlana Alexandrova — The standing committee of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) will discuss in Helsinki on Sunday two resolutions proposed by Russia and decide whether they should be included in the OSCE session’s agenda.
A resolution drafted by Russian State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin on the impossibility of imposing sanctions on parliamentarians and another one on the need to develop joint measures on averting manifestations of neo-Nazism are offered for consideration as supplementary items at the OSCE PA Annual Session that is due to take place on July 5-9 in Helsinki, Finland.
On Wednesday, Finnish authorities denied travel visas to several members of the Russian delegation set to participate in the OSCE PA, including Naryshkin, who is on the EU travel ban list of persons, accused of alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Moscow regards the Finnish decision as an openly unfriendly step.
Nearly 300 OSCE parliamentarians will participate in the summer session and discuss crisis in Ukraine and actions needed to counter foreign terrorist fighters.
The refugee crisis in the Mediterranean, human trafficking and the urgent need for OSCE reform are among a total of 15 other topics.
Lawmakers will also consider the special draft supplementary resolution "Helsinki+40: Building the OSCE of the Future," which has generated a wide range of ideas for the reforms ahead of the Final Act's milestone anniversary.
August 2015 will mark the 40th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act that was signed in an effort to eliminate dividing lines between East and West.
