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CoE Parliamentary Assembly expresses commitment to open dialogue with Russia

Xinhua, June 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has voted in Strasbourg on Wednesday to maintain the credentials of the Russian delegation as "a signal of commitment to an open and constructive dialogue."

In a resolution adopted with 128 votes in favor, 11 against and 13 abstentions, the assembly decided to uphold sanctions imposed against the Russian delegation in its January session, but not to annul Russian credentials to the rights organization.

Russian voting rights were stripped in a resolution adopted in the January PACE session of this year, after similar sanctions enacted in April 2014 following the Russian annexation of Crimea.

Despite what PACE members viewed as a lack of progress since January, they remained convinced that "an open dialogue, in good faith, between the Assembly and the Russian delegation" was critical for finding a mutual solution to conflict in the East of Ukraine and resolving tensions on the question of Crimea.

PACE Rapporteur Stefan Schennach (Austria, Socialist group) claimed he was not happy to be required to present on the issue of the Russian credentials for a third time this year, but "this is a problem within the family."

While present for the January session in sanctions were put in place against them, the Russian delegation has since ceased all it activities and work with PACE.

As a result, PACE members called on the Russian delegation to reverse its decision and resume work with the Parliamentary Assembly.

A PACE spokesperson contacted on Wednesday was not able to say when or how the resolution would be communicated to the Russian delegation, or whether a response could be expected. Endit