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Russian lawmakers criticize PACE's extension of sanctions

Xinhua, January 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

Russian lawmakers on Thursday criticized the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the group's decision to extend its sanctions against the Russian delegation.

This was "a very lamentable decision," Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee, said after PACE voted on Wednesday to strip the Russian delegation of its rights to vote and be represented in some of the group's major bodies until April 2015.

"The assembly once again keeps itself aloof from promoting settlement to the conflict in Ukraine and protecting the rights of people living there," he was quoted by TASS as saying.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy chairman of the upper house's Foreign Affairs Committee, slammed the sanctions as "unconstructive."

"We were ready to listen to criticism and to express our position on certain remarks in PACE, but they don't want to listen to us," he said.

"These are tactics of anti-Russian forces in PACE. From one session to another, they will keep the Russian delegation on its toes," said Igor Morozov, a member of the committee, noting that the assembly would try to push its luck every time the Russian delegation makes concessions.

He denounced the anti-Russian rhetoric as "standard public policy in PACE," with which the group demonstrates its commitment to the United States.

Alexei Pushkov, the Russian delegation head in PACE and chairman of the State Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee, told media after the decision on suspension that the Russian delegation was pulling out of the sessions of PACE and will suspend all contacts with it until the end of this year.

PACE is a statutory organ of the Council of Europe, an advisory international organization promoting cooperation among all countries of Europe. It is made up of 318 parliamentarians from the national parliaments of the Council of Europe's 47 members.

In March 2014, PACE stripped the 18 Russian parliamentarians of the voting rights in the group as a punishment for Russia's annexation of Crimea. Endit