Russia May Return to PACE for January Session

© Sputnik / Vladimir Fedorenko / Go to the mediabankDelegates at a plenary meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
Delegates at a plenary meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) - Sputnik International
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The head of the Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Alexei Pushkov stated on Thursday that Russia may apply for return to the PACE in January.

ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — Russia may apply for return to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in January, the head of the Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee, Alexei Pushkov, said Thursday.

"If there are no changes to the mood within PACE, then, of course, this will have an impact on our approach. We will certainly not appear there until January. After State Duma elections, we may once again apply to take part, but we will not make it to the October session. We can only talk about January," Pushkov told reporters.

Building of the Parliamentary Assembly Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg, France - Sputnik International
PACE Head Says Intends to Continue Contacts With Russia
Russia does not seek to exit PACE, Pushkov added, stressing that returning to the organizations while being subjected to discrimination is also undesirable.

The statement comes after PACE President Pedro Agramunt's meeting with Russian parliamentary speakers Valentina Matvienko and Sergei Naryshkin. The PACE president said that he intends to continue contacts with Russia. Agramunt is currently taking part in the session of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Interparliamentary Assembly in Russia’s St. Petersburg.

A PACE resolution in April 2014 deprived the Russian delegation of its voting rights, in response to Crimea's secession from Ukraine and rejoining Russia. Russian lawmakers were barred from participating in PACE's three key bodies — its bureau, presidential committee and standing committee. Russia did not renew its credentials ahead of the Parliamentary Assembly’s 2016 winter session and made its return conditional to the restoration of its delegates' rights to vote and participate in PACE institutions.

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