MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A Russian delegation will take part in the summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, said Thursday.
"From July 1 to 5, our parliament delegation will work at an OSCE PA session…the delegation will be headed by Nikolai Kovalev," Sergei Naryshkin told reporters.
On July 1, 2015, Finland refused to give travel visas for several Russian parliamentarians, who were invited to take part in a session of the OSCE PA. Speaker of the Russian parliament's lower chamber Sergei Naryshkin, blacklisted by the European Union over accusations of involvement in the Ukrainian crisis, was among those whose visa was denied. In protest, the Russian delegation refused to participate in the parliamentary session.