PACE Meeting Without Russia to Discuss Ukrainian Crisis

2014/09/29

STRASBOURG, September 29 (RIA Novosti) – The autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will be dedicated to discussing the crisis in Ukraine, the issue of neo-Nazism and addressing Islamic State (IS) threats, among other topics, though Russia, which suspended its cooperation with the assembly in June, will not be taking part in the meeting.


The assembly has previously discussed the Ukrainian crisis in January, April and June. A PACE source told RIA Novosti that several parliamentarians suggested holding another round of debates on the issue. A full-strength Russian delegation will not be present at the autumn session of PACE, which will be the second time for Russia after the April session.


The PACE session will also focus on countering neo-Nazism, with the presentation of Swedish parliamentarian Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin's report "Counteraction to manifestations of neo-Nazism."


"All political leaders are thus invited to engage in debate with neo-Nazi movements so as to expose them publicly by rejecting and condemning their ideology and rhetoric," according to the report's summary.


The discussion on neo-Nazism is to take place Tuesday, September 30. Russian PACE representative Olga Kazakova is expected to participate in the discussion.


An urgent debate on the issues concerning the IS has also been requested. The discussion is expected to focus on the threats posed by IS militants and violence against Christians, as well as other religious groups.


The draft agenda of the session also includes annual debates on The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, monitoring reports on Georgia and Albania, and a debate on possible changes in PACE's monitoring mechanism.


The assembly's autumn session takes place in Strasbourg from September 29 to October 3, 2014.



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