Georgia among delegates challenging Russia’s rights at PACE, Russia threatens to leave
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Georgia joined Lithuanian and Latvian delegates at PACE yesterday who have challenged Russia’s regaining of its voting right last year which it lost for the annexation of Crimea back in 2014.
During the first winter session of PACE on January 27 delegates Emanuelis Zingeris of Lithuania and Maria Golubeva of Latvia, came out against the confirmation of the authorities of the Russian delegation ‘due to substantial grounds’ - for ignoring its international commitments by Russia, including its illegal occupation of Georgian and Ukrainian territories.
Over 30 lawmakers supported the move, which means that the issue will be considered on merits soon.
The decision on the appeal or confirmation of the Russian authorities should be made during the first two days of the session.
Russia, which agreed to pay €75 million before regaining the voting right, has threatened to leave PACE.
We expect that the assembly’s constructively-minded majority will do its best to prevent any recurrence of the crisis in relations between Moscow and Strasbourg and will fully ratify the Russian delegation’s rights. We are ready to work solely on an equal basis and won’t accept any secondary sanctions," TASS has cited Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma lower parliament house, as saying.
He said that the Russian delegation’s rights have been challenged by “Russophobic delegations to PACE.”