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24Jan22

Russian delegation to leave PACE if its rights are infringed upon — Russian lawmaker

Russia’s delegation will refuse from participating in the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) if any of their rights are infringed upon, Pyotr Tolstoy, speaker of the Russian State Duma (lower parliament house) and head of the Russian delegation to PACE, said on Monday.

"Our position remains unchanged: should the rights of our lawmakers be infringed upon in any way, we will leave the session. We are ready to work only on an equal basis, using all the rights granted by the organization’s charter," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

The Russian delegation’s rights within PACE have been challenged at the initiative of Lithuanian and Ukrainian lawmakers. The final decision on the matter is to be taken on Wednesday. "Let us hope common sense will win the upper hand and our European colleagues will not pander to provocation," Tolstoy added.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Duma international committee Leonid Slutsky noted that this is the third attempt to challenge Russia’s rights within PACE since its return to the organization in 2019. "The previous two - in 2020 and 2021 - ended in the failure of the Assembly’s Russophobes and the triumph of common sense - all the rights of Russian lawmakers were fully confirmed. I hope a constructive approach will win this time again," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

Otherwise, he stressed, the Russian delegation will cut short its work within PACE. "This position is well known in Strasbourg," he noted. "We condemn any discrimination, any sanctions or infringement on the Russian delegation’s rights.".

[Source: Tass, Moscow, 24Jan22]
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