Russia Will Not Comply With PACE Resolutions Adopted in Its Absence - Delegation Head

STRASBOURG (Sputnik) - Russia's delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will not comply with PACE resolutions that have been adopted during the years of its absence, the head of the delegation and the deputy speaker of Russia's lower house of Parliament, Pyotr Tolstoy, said on Tuesday.

"We are not going to comply with a single resolution that has been adopted in absence of the Russian Federation", Tolstoy told reporters.

In April 2014, Russia was stripped of its voting rights in the organisation in the wake of the Ukrainian crisis and aftermath of the Crimea referendum.

Since 2016, the Russian delegation has not been renewing its credentials ahead of the assembly's sessions, in protest of the discrimination it faces within PACE.

Moscow has also frozen its contributions to the Council of Europe, stating that payments would be withheld until the Russian delegation's rights are fully restored.

PACE supported sanctions against Moscow, but later urged Russia to pay the fees and come back to the assembly. However, Russia has demanded guarantees that it will be granted the right to vote before it returns, so the delegation won't be stripped of its rights again.