Russian politicians gather in Strasbourg to “fight” for PACE membership
Relations between Russia and Europe are discussed in Strasbourg. There, on January 26, the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe started. It began with the fact that the representative of the United Kingdom, Robert Walter, questioned the credentials of the Russian delegation. This issue will now be considered on Wednesday. The editor-in-chief of the Dozhd TV channel Mikhail Zygar from Strasbourg spoke in more detail about this.
Many prominent Russian politicians arrived in Strasbourg, among them: Sergey Naryshkin, Alexey Pushkov, Gennady Zyuganov, Leonid Slutsky. They gathered to fight, or, as on the sidelines, Leonid Slutsky told Rain’s chief editor, Mikhail Zygar, to “fight” for the right to remain in PACE and the Council of Europe.
In April last year, the right to vote was temporarily taken away from the Russian delegation. This sanction expired today, January 26, at 11:00 a.m. However, on Wednesday evening, January 28, the question will be asked whether Russia will continue to actively participate in PACE. The Russian delegation calls this the “trial of the Russian Federation”.
Sergei Naryshkin held talks with PACE President Ann Brasser, he met with Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland. In public, Naryshkin repeated several times: firstly, if Russia is again deprived of the right to vote, then Russia will not participate in PACE for a year, and if this does not help, Russia will seriously think about leaving the Council of Europe.
Mikhail Zygar on the sidelines of the Council of Europe discussed this threat with PACE participants and leaders. Thorbjorn Jagland does not believe that Russia really does not want to leave the Council, and does not believe that this will happen. Most also do not believe that Russia is ready to “slam the door.”
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