PACE President is formally asking for Russia’s return to the Assembly
The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Pedro Agramunt, has insisted that the Assembly should do all that they can to return representatives of Russia, who left PACE due to the sanctions, to the plenary hall.
Evropeyska Pravda reported that Agramunt said this at the opening of the autumn session of PACE in Strasbourg.
“It is not beneficial for Russia, the Assembly or one of the 46 member countries if Russia is not part of PACE,” he said.
Agramunt also complained about the resistance of certain forces who do not want to lift restrictions against Russian representatives.
“You all know that I have taken steps to restore relations with Russia. I did this openly and notified leaders of the groups. I have often seen how certain groups hinder dialogue, but we must move forward. Excluding Russia from any of our discussions does not assist in making progress,” he said.
Agramunt said that he will continue to work on the return of Russia, and has urged other politicians to support him. “We have agreed that the leaders of the political groups will discuss the situation. I would like for all of us to discuss this issue,” he added.
Despite this, Agramunt said that it is still necessary to talk about the violations made by the Russian Federation. “The dialogue should not undermine our principles,” he concluded.