Events

Sergei Kislyak: PACE has confirmed Russia’s credentials in full

Russian senators made statements at the PACE session.


The credentials of the Russian delegation at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have been confirmed without limitations. First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs and head of senators at the Russian delegation in PACE Sergei Kislyak commented on the results of the session where the matter was discussed.

The senators attended the event via videoconference.

Sergei Kislyak pointed out that Russia’s opponents had been making regular attempts to deprive the Russian delegation of its credentials. “This does no credit to the Organisation and is not doing any good to its activities,” he said.

He recalled that the ability to work in full capacity at PACE was not a gift or promise to the Russian MPs but a right that is set out in its charter. “We believe that any attempts to force the Assembly to act differently are unacceptable and are undermining its value as a common mechanism of European cooperation on the main European issues,” Sergei Kislyak said.

The senator noted that working with the Assembly offered an opportunity to listen to others and to promote one’s own views based on mutual respect. “We are ready to continue working together on any differences and to look for a unifying agenda. It is not our custom to blackmail others into adopting our views as the only right choice. And we will not allow others to try to do the same to our delegation by threatening with punishment,” he said.

Sergei Kislyak emphasised that mutual respect and equality were the only acceptable form of interaction at PACE.

“I again recommend that those who are trying to fuel anti-Russia sentiments under the guise of concern for human rights and rule of law take a look in the mirror and recall the infringements on the ethnic minorities’ rights in Ukraine, where children are deprived of the ability to receive an education in their mother tongue, the opposition media are suppressed and civilians in the southeastern regions are regularly shelled. And I recommend that they also recall the infringements on the rights of Russian-speaking population in the Baltic countries, which are not in a hurry to deal with the problem of non-citizens. Regrettably, there are many more examples like this, and I believe that PACE should get down to addressing them in earnest,” the senator added.

First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building Irina Rukavishnikova noted in her statement that for the past three years the PACE session had invariably begun with the same issue at the initiative of the same national delegations. “Our colleagues have been consciously and deliberately trying to use PACE sessions for self-promotion and to spread Russophobic sentiments,” she said.

The senator pointed out that they add patently slanderous issues to the agenda to draw the MPs’ attention away from truly important common European problems, “such as language discrimination in Ukraine, the glorification of the Nazis and Holocaust organisers, and failure to honour its international commitment to settle the conflict in Donbass, where peaceful civilians are dying.”.

Irina Rukavishnikova added that the Russian delegation was always open to constructive cooperation, with the exception of the instances when Russia’s territorial integrity and constitutional regime were put in question.

Member of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building Alexander Bashkin said it was not the first time that a group of colleagues, driven by a desire to settle scores with the Russian delegation, tried to force their discourse on the Assembly. “They always use the same unscrupulous method, offering distorted facts as an argument,” he added.

The senator cited the example of unsubstantiated statements according to which the parliamentary election in Russia was not free or fair. “Actually, the compliance of the election to the Russian legislation and international, legal standards has been confirmed by the international community and numerous observer missions,” he said.

Alexander Bashkin pointed out that Russian people regard the repeated attempts to exclude Russia from the PACE activities as an intention to exclude them from the common European mechanisms, including human rights and democratic instruments.

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