PACE confirms powersof Russian delegation

PARIS (TASS): The deputies of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) by a majority of votes ratified on Wednesday the powers of the Russian delegation, voting for the relevant resolution. 97 deputies out of 142 supported the adoption of this decision.
“The Assembly decided to ratify the powers of the members of the Russian delegation,” the resolution states. As emphasized in the document, PACE expects that “the ratification of the powers of the Russian delegation will contribute to a meaningful dialogue leading to concrete results.”
French MP Jacques Maire called the annual attempts to challenge Russian powers “a sad tradition deserving of regret.” In his opinion, the powers of the Russian delegation should be preserved in order to confirm the line of dialogue.
Ukrainian MP Aleksey Goncharenko, in a raised tone, tried to convince the audience not to support the resolution on the ratification of powers, while making insulting remarks about his colleagues. As a result, PACE President Tiny Cox forbade him to speak until the end of the debate.
On Monday, a group of deputies during the PACE winter session, on the initiative of parliamentarians from Lithuania and Ukraine, proposed not to approve the powers of the Russian delegation in the organization. During the approval of the agenda, it was decided to prepare an appropriate report and discuss it on Wednesday.
The head of the Russian delegation, Vice Speaker of the State Duma Pyotr Tolstoy warned that parliamentarians from the Russian Federation would refuse to continue working at the session in the event of any infringement of their rights.