Russian senators take part in the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has started in Strasbourg. Federation Council members in the Russian delegation got down to work, according to First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Sergei Kislyak (head of the Federation Council delegation).
The new PACE President was elected on the first day of the session: Hendrik Daems, head of the Belgian delegation to the assembly and chair of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe political group.
According to Sergei Kislyak, the new PACE head is highly professional, and the Russian lawmakers hope to work constructively with him. “This is why we came here. Practical results of the assembly’s work are among the goals Hendrik Daems has set. I like this idea of his: to organise PACE’s work so that it concentrates more on practical things,” the senator said.
The senator also noted another important topic the new PACE president mentioned: intensifying the work on climate change in the world. “This problem concerns everyone, and we are ready to work on this with all the interested parliamentarians.”
Speaking about the dispute about the Russian delegation’s rights, Sergei Kislyak noted that the Russian parliamentarians take an absolutely tough stand on this issue. “We were ready for a situation like this. We spoke about this in the summer, on the eve of the Russian delegation’s return to the assembly, and our position hasn’t changed,” Sergei Kislyak said. “We’ll see what’s next. We hope that common sense will prevail. PACE’s quality as an organisation uniting all the European countries largely depends on Russia’s presence,” he stressed.
“We have a constructive practical dialogue on this platform, because we have come here to work and not to fight with our opponents. And we are already working in commissions and working groups. Russian senators have begun preparing thematic reports for the assembly. I believe that the sensible part of the PACE members understands and appreciates this,” Sergei Kislyak emphasised.
The Federation Council’s delegation at PACE is comprised of First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy Igor Kagramanyan, First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy Sergei Kalashnikov, First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Defence and Security Vladimir Kozhin, Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building Alexander Bashkin, Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on the Budget and Financial Markets Andrei Yepishin, member of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building Irina Rukavishnikova and member of the Federation Council Committee on House Rules and Parliamentary Governance Sergei Fabrichny.
The first part of the regular PACE session took place between 27 and 31 January.