PACE President: Russia's Participation in Madrid Meeting Step Toward Cooperation

PACE President Pedro Argamunt called the participation of a Russian parliamentary delegation in Madrid meeting of the PACE Standing Committee "move forward on the path towards full co-operation" between Moscow and PACE.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The participation of a Russian parliamentary delegation in Madrid meeting of the PACE Standing Committee on March 10 indicated a progress in resuming bilateral cooperation, PACE President Pedro Argamunt told Sputnik on Sunday.

"The exchange of views in Madrid was another step in the development of our dialogue – a very important one. Because in Madrid, for the first time in the past two years we could have an open, direct and frank discussion. I hope that this step will help us move forward on the path towards full co-operation," Agramunt said.

The Russian delegation participated in the PACE Standing Committee meeting in Madrid on March 10, for the first time since relations worsened. The meeting's agenda, proposed by Agramunt, included an exchange of views on the modalities of cooperation between the PACE and the Russian parliament in 2017.

Russian lawmakers have been absent from the PACE, which brings together 324 members of parliaments of the Council of Europe's 47 member states, since Crimea left Ukraine for Russia in early 2014. In 2016 and 2017, Russia did not seek accreditation to participate in the work of the organization.