"Today the Council of Europe is one of the bodies to whom various anti-Russian forces appeal the most often, for instance, Latvian nationalists and Chechen separatists. Will the Council of Europe countries confirm their dedication to basic European values? Russia's further contacts with Europe largely depend on that, just as further moves to implement the roadmaps," said the senator.
Russia is to regard the summit from the viewpoint of its upcoming chairmanship of the Council of Europe leading body, the Committee of Ministers, to start next year, he pointed out.
"We have a chance now to show that we are consistent in our work for European integration, and to have an impact on Council of Europe for its positions on issues essential for Russia."
Issues on the summit agenda are of high importance to Russia, and have much in common with roadmaps key aspects.
"Russia joined the Council of Europe in 1996 and became its 39th member. Its summit offers yet another rostrum from which Russia is in duty bound to promote European integration," Mareglov noted. Moscow hosted a Russia-European Union summit on May 10. The Council of Europe summit is now to promote its achievements, stressed the senator.
Last Tuesday's summit adopted roadmaps on four common spaces - the economy; freedom, security and justice; external security; and research and education, complete with their cultural aspects. The roadmaps blueprint joint efforts to set up such spaces. Russia has always been consistent in its policies in all those fields, and vouches to stay so, Margelov said.
"During its Warsaw summit, the Council of Europe is to confirm its dedication to the system of protecting the triunity of the values proclaimed, democracy, human rights, and supremacy of the law as reflected in the roadmaps Russia-EU summiteers have drafted," he concluded.
