Senior Russian Lawmaker Says Russian Delegation May Attend PACE Session in June

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The head of the Russian Parliament's lower house International Affairs Committee, Leonid Slutsky, believes that a Russian delegation may attend June's session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) if the body admits the inadmissibility of targeting national delegations with sanctions.

"I admit [the possibility] that the delegation of the Russian Federation may take part in June's session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. We will go [there] if the [relevant] PACE committee… on 3 June, as well as the assembly itself on the first day of the session make an appropriate decision about the inadmissibility of applying sanctions to national delegations", Slutsky told reporters.

The parliamentarian added that relevant negotiations were underway with the members of political groups.

"In particular, a conversation has recently been held with the leader of the Unified [European] Left [Group], Tiny Kox. I do not rule out that following a meeting of the… [PACE] committee, a meeting between parliamentarians from the Russian Federation and PACE leadership can be held as well", Slutsky added.

The head of the committee also stressed that the tone and nature of the discussions indicated that the sides were more and more likely to reach a constructive solution.

PACE deprived the Russian delegation of its voting rights in retaliation for Crimea's reunification with Russia, someting the Council of Europe has called an "annexation".

The Russian delegation at PACE has not been renewing its credentials since 2016, and Moscow suspended its annual contributions to the council in 2017.