By Vestnik Kavkaza
On January 28th the Russian delegation in PACE was deprived of voting rights till April for Moscow’s position in the Ukrainian issue. The delegation headed by Alexei Pushkov made a counter-move, deciding to leave PACE till the end of 2015.
Yesterday, the speaker of the State Duma, Sergei Naryshkin, explained: “If the Russian delegation doesn't have full rights, especially voting rights, there is no sense working in PACE under such conditions. When the years come to an end, probably the issue of Russia’s membership in the Council of Europe will be discussed.”
The Minister of Justice Alexander Konovalov added that if Russia leaves the Council of Europe, the power of the European Court of Human Rights won’t spread to the RF.
Commenting on the situation, Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of the Federation Council of Russia, stated that Western policy was aimed at damaging Russia, despite the situation in Ukraine: “As soon as the situation settles, and I have already talked about it, and voices are heard advocating a lifting of sanctions against Russia and normalization of cooperation with Russia, an escalation is incited immediately, momentarily, as if on someone’s command, new shelling starts, new exotic accusations of the destruction of Carthage and so on are made against Russia. In other words, it is a deliberate policy and line to keep pressure on Russia, threatening it with new economic sanctions. And a similar line is being encouraged at the PACE.”
Matviyenko hopes that “the sane part of the unbiased, unpoliticized members of the PACE would react to the situation adequately. But if any discriminating decision should be made against the Russian delegation, we would no longer take part in the work of the PACE, we do not need doles, favours, and if this Bacchanalia continues, we will review the practicability of Russia’s participation in the Council of Europe.”
The speaker of the Federation Council of Russia thinks there is a background to the changing of the policy by the EU, as it damages not only Russia, but also the EU itself: “The EU has no rock-solid unanimity on relations with Russia or implementation of new sanctions, and many countries are openly and publicly speaking about it. Because everyone has figured out that economic sanctions are a reciprocal weapon, and it has a negative impact on both the Russian economy and the economy of a whole set of European states and the EU as a whole. So we hope that the countries adequately evaluating the situation would voice their position in case such consideration takes place.”
Expressing Moscow’s position on Western sanctions, Matviyenko said: “Russia will doubtlessly give an appropriate response, and we have been taking a position on the illegality of such economic sanctions. We consider them unconstructive, and we understand whose interests they serve, and the situation in Ukraine is only used to continue economic and political pressure on Russia. But it is an absolutely pointless process, and pushing further towards an impasse, into a corner, is gainless for everyone. We hope for pragmatism and common sense.”
