Document prepared by representatives of assembly to be presented in 2022
The visit of representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to Moscow at the end of June gave new impetus to political dialogue with Russia, a statement published on Friday said. This was stated in a statement published on the organisation’s website on Friday.
“PACE co-rapporteurs on monitoring Russia’s fulfilment of the commitments undertaken when it joined the Council of Europe, Axel Schäfer (Germany) and Ria Oomen-Reuthen (Netherlands), made a study visit to Moscow from June 28-30 as part of the preparation of the report to be submitted to the assembly in 2022”, – the statement said. It stressed that the PACE representatives “met the deputy chairmen of the State Duma and the Federation Council, representatives of parliamentary factions in the State Duma, members of the Russian delegation to the PACE, as well as representatives of the Foreign Ministry and the Justice Ministry, the CEC chairman and the human rights commissioner. They also held meetings with representatives of non-governmental organisations and the ambassadors of Germany and the Netherlands.
“During the meetings, they raised a number of issues that stem from the commitments undertaken by the Russian Federation in joining the Council of Europe”, – the communiqué on the assembly’s website said. – “The visit, carried out as planned despite worsening sanitary conditions, gave new impetus to the political dialogue. It will continue in the framework of the monitoring process in the coming months”, – the PACE said. The assembly noted that another visit by its representatives was envisaged before the report was delivered.