MOSCOW, April 7 (RIA Novosti) - Russian rights activists say that neither Russia nor Europe will gain if they withdraw from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and insist on maintaining cooperation.
"I think it is important for Russia to hold a seat in PACE as we do not need diplomatic isolation," Sergei Pashin, former judge and member of the Presidential Human Rights Council, told RIA Novosti Monday.
According to Pashin Russia's withdrawal from PACE will also be detrimental to European countries.
"There was a time when they could do without Russia but the situation has changed since the level of both political and economic contacts has surged significantly. And even if being at loggerheads with Russia might not affect PACE members, it will have a negative impact on their countries. There must be a platform for dialogue and it would be a foolish thing to suspend cooperation right now" Pashin added.
The spring PACE session will be held in Strasbourg on April 7-13. The motion to strip Russian delegation of its powers over its actions in Crimea is to top the agenda of the meeting. The first initiative stipulating the total revocation of authorities till the end of the year was issued by Britain's Robert Walter. 74 PACE members have already signed the proposal.
The other to deprive Russia of its vote right was submitted by Denmark's Michael Aastrup Jensen. It was backed by 53 members.
Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, adopted a resolution last week warning the assembly from making such a decision. Alexei Pushkov, the head of the Russian delegation, said that Russian delegates would walk out of the assembly at the first sign of a vote on their sanctioning.
Tanya Lokshina, Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch at the Moscow Office, says that this move will backfire on Russia and undermine its international image.
"Unlike the European Union the Council of Europe is an international human rights organization and PACE is one of the world's top clubs. By leaving PACE Russia will literary say "We do not respect the convention". We sincerely hope this will not happen. This runs counter both to Russian citizens' interests and those of our European partners," Lokshina told RIA Novosti.
"If Russia sees itself as part of Europe, an important member of the European community, how can it ignore this? I'm sure it's important for Russia to keep its membership in the European Council and let the PACE delegation to continue its efforts. As much as it is important for Europe to maintain cooperation with Russia, as Russia is part of Europe," she added.
