Declaration is issued at the PACE to express regret at the approval of the credentials submitted by the Russian Federation

Press release, 3 February 2020

On the final day of the Winter Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which was held in Strasbourg last week, members of the national delegations of Ukraine, Georgia, Sweden, Iceland, Lithuania, Latvia, the United Kingdom, Moldova, Slovakia and Poland signed a declaration expressing their regret at the approval, by the Assembly, of the credentials submitted by the Russian Federation.

Members of the national delegations who have signed the Declaration stressed they did not agree with the approval of the Russian credentials and expressed hope that the Russian Federation would respect the terms of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in full and meet the requirements of Parliamentary Assembly resolutions thereby condemning the annexation of Crimea, the ongoing military aggression by the Russian Federation in Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the occupation of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, and also expressing concern about the treatment of Crimean Tatars.

The signatories demand the Russian Federation to implement the resolutions, ‘including Resolution 2297 (2019) and Resolution 2252 (2019), addressing democracy erosion in the Russian Federation itself.’

The Declaration also expresses the view that ‘the perpetuation of breaches of the ECHR and the continued occupation of parts of the territories of Ukraine and Georgia will lay the representatives of the Russian Federation open to further sanction.’

Click here to see the English text of the signed Declaration.

For more information, please contact Selija Levin, Adviser, International Relations Unit, Office of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6216, e-mail: [email protected]

Monika Kutkaitytė, Adviser, Press Office, Information and Communication Department, tel. +307 5 239 6666, el. p. [email protected]