Russia's Federation Council see no grounds for renewing work in PACE

Russia's Federation Council adopted the statement "On the situation linked to Russian participation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe," which states the absence of grounds for sending an application for participation in the Assembly’s work at the next session.

"In this situation the members of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation see no grounds for sending a corresponding application to confirm the powers of the Russian delegation in the PACE for the next session in 2019," TASS cited the draft statement as saying.

At the same time, the senators confirmed the readiness to continue a constructive dialogue with the national parliaments that are members of the PACE, as well as with the bodies and institutions of the Council of Europe, including the Parliamentary Assembly "for the benefit of returning the Council of Europe to the positions of an international organization which was initially founded based on the principles of full equity of its members and respect for common European democratic values."