No stability possible without regard for Ukraine's East, South - Russia delegate to PACE
8 April 2014, 00:30 -- It will be hardly possible to achieve stability in Ukraine without due regard for popular sentiment in Ukraine’s East and South, the head of Russia’s delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), chairman of Russia’s State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee, Alexei Pushkov, said. "The situation shows that it will be impossible to achieve stability without due regard for the aspirations and striving of people in eastern and southern Ukraine, first of all, the Russian-speaking people and the Russian population," he said.
PACE members "are beginning to realize" this problem, Pushkov said, and some Western parliamentarians already recognize that "Kiev’s current authorities cannot control the situation".
"Two weeks ago, a delegation from the PACE Presidential Committee visited Ukraine - Kiev, Lviv and Donetsk. The delegates were able to see for themselves that the problem of Russians in the East and South was not invented by Russia. It is a real problem that stems from popular discontent there," Pushkov said. "They have come to the conclusion that the authorities in Kiev do not completely control the situation and that the presence of paramilitary units that obey no one and are illegal is completely untypical of a country claiming to be a democracy."
"I believe these ideas, which are new for the Assembly, will be discussed during the debates," Pushkov said, adding that he hoped that some PACE delegates "will point out that the situation is extremely difficult" and that the developments in Crimea "have resulted from the government collapse and an unconstitutional change of power".In general, the leaders of political factions at the PACE were increasingly aware that Ukraine's current crisis stemmed not from Russia's actions, but the inability of Ukraine’s current authorities to find a way out of the problem situation, Pushkov said.
PACE debates on Ukraine are scheduled for April 9, TASS reports.
The deputy head of the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has urged the Assembly to voice ‘a resolute protest’ over adding parliamentarians to the list of sanctions.
"We must make a resolute stand against this discrimination," Leonid Slutsky told a PACE session, referring to the European Union’s list of sanctions.
He said Europe should not produce a mirror reflection "of what is being done in the US, which is systematically creating a one-polar world". Slutsky, who is the chairman of the Russian lower house’s Committee for CIS Affairs, urged PACE to think twice about that, and express its "resolute protest".
The Russian delegation will leave the current session of PACE if it votes for any sanctions against Russian parliamentarians, Slutsky said.
"If the resolution contains any sanctions, we will most likely leave Strasbourg as a sign of protest. This is the position of the Russian delegation," he said.
Slutsky himself was blacklisted by the US, EU and Canada, where visa and financial restrictions were imposed on him in connection with Crimea’s accession to Russia.
In Strasbourg, the Russian parliamentarian takes part in a spring session of PACE as member of a European parliamentary organization, having immunity for the time of official international events.
Russia's Walkout from PACE harmful for both sides - political analyst
Strasbourg is to hold a spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The day before, Britain resolved a resolution to expel Russia from the organization. Danish parliamentarians have proposed to deprive Russia of the right to vote. Poland’s, Ukraine’s and the Baltic countries representatives support this initiative, while France, Italy, Austria and Germany oppose it.
French Strasbourg is to hold a spring session of the PACE. The main issue of the session will be sanctions against Russia for its integration with the Crimea.
The PACE officials will vote whether to expel Russia from the organization or deprive the country of its right to vote. The first initiative was proposed by the United Kingdom, the second one was proposed by Denmark. The decision will be made by simple majority of the vote.
Russian delegation is to visit the conference in its full complement; however, it will leave it, if the member countries of the PACE decide on Russia’s authorities within the organization, Alexei Pushkov, Head of the foreign-affairs committee in the State Duma, told the journalists. On April 1, Russia’s State Duma commented on the possible exclusion of Russia from the PACE. Russia’s officials called this initiative "a destructive step that is based on bias information, concerning Ukraine and the Crimea."
France, Italy, Austria and Germany understand that above all this step will be harmful to Europe. They have called upon other countries within the PACE not to take radical decisions against Russia, Alexander Gusev, Director of the Institute for strategic planning and forecasting, says.
"All these economic and political sanctions are harmful for both sides; they will also influence the PACE. If the member countries of the PACE are to expel Russia, the organization will lose one of its most active participants. I’m sure that they won’t do this."
Europe starts to review the Ukrainian crisis issue and the Crimea’s integration with Russia, Alexander Bovdunov, expert of the Center for conservative investigations of the Sociological faculty at Moscow State University, says.
"Here we speak about a particular part of European political elite. We have already heard that these politicians support Russia or, at least, comprehend Russia’s position and its actions, concerning Ukrainian crisis. This elite comprises the right political parties and other political forces, such as German left-wingers."
The United Kingdom and Denmark, together with Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic countries are likely to approve Russia’s exclusion from the PACE. The voting is to be held on April 10.
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