At the plenary meeting on Thursday, January 17, the members of the State Duma
supported the draft statement “On the situation around Russian participation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe”.
Speaking
during the discussion of the issue, the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, the head of the United Russia faction, Sergei Neverov
Neverov
Sergey Ivanovich
, noted that depriving of the Russian delegation to PACE of the right to vote contradicts international law,
the Statute of the Council of Europe and the very nature of parliamentarism.
“After
the adoption of this statement, political scientists and experts of a certain character
will start wondering if this means that we are giving up Russia's presence in Europe, we are giving up democratic values. In fact, everything is exactly the opposite. Russia is just fighting for democratic values, for the right of parliaments, regardless of whether their point of view satisfies someone or not, to represent the interests of their countries and their citizens inside
PACE,” said Sergei Neverov.
In his
opinion, it is not the business of the European structures to “try to establish
some kind of a single standard for all nations, depriving of those who have a different point of view of the right of speech and the right to think
differently.”
“We have different factions in parliament,
often we don’t like what the colleagues of United Russia say, but we respect
the fact that millions of Russians voted for our colleagues. And we consider
ourselves obliged to listen to their point of view, to seek common, compromised
solutions, and we cannot imagine any limitation in voting, in expressing our
position in the State Duma,” said Sergei Neverov.
According
to the parliamentarian, PACE has driven itself into a trap — the agenda of the Parliamentary Assembly is dictated, in fact, by marginal political forces. “It
is enough to cite as an example the conclusion of this organization on violations of the rights to learn native languages in Russia. As Viacheslav
Nikonov
Nikonov
Vyacheslav Alexeyevich
rightly noted, just the other day, there are 58 pages about Russia and zero attention to what is happening in Ukraine.”
Sergei
Neverov believes that PACE decisions are influenced by countries that are far
from Europe. “Let's be honest, hardly the actions of PACE are the choice of the European countries themselves. This is the choice of those who are not even on the European continent. Their task is to maintain a split in international
structures, stop and prevent any dialogue, make Europe a field for new
confrontation in order to preserve and strengthen their control over the continent,” the head of the faction said.
At the same time, during any international events, at any platforms and during dozens
of bilateral meetings, Russian parliamentarians methodically conveyed their reasoned
position to European colleagues, stressed Sergei Neverov. “Unfortunately, it
never found a reaction and understanding. But we can safely say that the Russian parliament, on its part, did everything possible to resolve the current
situation with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. And we have
always been open to dialogue,” said the head of the faction.
According
to him, the position of the Russian side remains immutable – national
delegations should not be deprived of the right to vote, no matter what country
they represent. “This is contrary to the norms of international law, the Statute
of the Council of Europe and the very nature of parliamentarism. We are acting not
in our own interests, but in the interests of all members of the Council of Europe, whose delegations are working in PACE today,” said Sergei Neverov.
“As for the participation or non-participation of our delegation in the work of PACE.
In the current situation, we will not allow the humiliation of our country. Moreover
at our own expense. We have more pressing problems where money will be more useful,”
said the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma.
The adoption of this statement does not also mean that the Russian parliamentarians
are closed for cooperation, Sergei Neverov stressed: “We will continue it very
actively. We have worked and will work with the parliaments of European
countries. We appreciate the pragmatism of the positions of many national
delegations in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, aimed at restoring the dialogue and full work of the Russian delegation.”
Cooperation
with foreign parliamentarians will also be continued in other areas. Sergei
Neverov reminded that last year the International Forum on “Development of Parliamentarism” was held, the format of the Meeting of Speakers of Eurasian Countries’
Parliaments is actively developing, every year the number of participants of this platform is increasing. “We are participating in other international
formats and conducting a constructive dialogue,” he said.
“There
has never been and will never be a situation when someone put Russia into a corner like a naughty child,” concluded Sergei Neverov.
