The Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) tentatively approved the decision to confirm the powers of the Russian delegation without any restrictions, according to a document published on the assembly's website.
The draft decision proposes to recognize that the Russian state is deviating from its obligations to the Council of Europe – in particular, in new amendments to the Constitution, allowing not to comply with the decisions of the ECHR and in securing reunification with Crimea, which has not been recognized by the world community. The situation with the arrested Alexei Navalny is also condemned.
Despite all this, the committee proposed not to impose any sanctions on the Russian representatives within the framework of the PACE, guided by the desire for international dialogue.
On January 25, the Assembly held a vote on sanctions against the Russian delegation, initiated by the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Maria Mezentseva. 38 participants in the meeting voted for challenging the powers of the Russians, 61 against, 51 abstained. The committee considered this proposal, as there were more than three dozen supporters of it.
Ukraine accuses Russia of occupying Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Kremlin rejects the claim.
