They adopted a resolution asking states to allow free movement of parliamentarians, but not before it was filled with language condemning Russia and triumphantly supported by Ukrainian lawmakers.
Ukrainian Rada deputy Georgiy Logvinskiy initially claimed that according to the resolution does the opposite, making parliamentarians responsible for visiting the Donbass and Crimea, which Ukraine considers its territory, without permission from Kiev.
In a triumphant Facebook post, he wrote that the organization, which has no executive power, has banned its members from visiting Crimea. The resolution, called "Sanctions against parliamentarians," criticized the idea, though Logvinskiy, who spelled the word as "sunctions," apparently thought that it concerned the imposition of sanctions.
Posted by Георгий Логвинский on Tuesday, 26 January 2016
"He treats his dreams as reality, or had too much to drink. Honestly, when you read the resolution, there is nothing like that," French legislator Thierry Mariani said in an exclusive commentary to Sputnik.
He added that he was not present at the discussion and voting on the resolution, which is not binding to any members.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) was a body formerly established for parliamentary-level dialogue of countries in the Council of Europe, an international agreement on human rights largely succeeded by the European Union.
Politicians in the PACE have little real clout, and its recent actions have brought it negative coverage when it came to issues of human rights in Azerbaijan.