Russia Still Wants PACE To Respect Rights Of National Delegations - Speaker

Fakhir Rizvi Published September 21, 2018 | 08:45 PM

ST PETERSBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2018) Russia will return to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) only if the latter respects all rights of national delegations, the speaker of the Russian parliament's upper house said Friday.

PACE's Committee on Rules of Procedure proposed on Thursday to amend certain provisions concerning the credentials of national delegations and voting conditions.

"Our stance remains - we will agree to these changes only when the rulebook no longer allows PACE to discriminate against any national delegation or withhold its right to vote," Valentina Matvienko told reporters.

Tensions between PACE and Russian lawmakers go back to 2014 when the 47-nation organization stripped Russia of its voting rights in PACE governing bodies over the Ukraine conflict.