Russian State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin believes the sanctions imposed by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Russia demonstrated how undemocratic PACE has become.
“To our great regret, PACE is becoming increasingly undemocratic,” Naryshkin told reporters on Friday.
“PACE members should work on real problems that exist on the
continent, which involve issues relating to the protection of people’s
rights and freedoms and protection of international law,” Naryshkin
said.
“A united Europe without division lines, as is stated in the founding
documents of the Council of Europe, can only be built through equal
dialogue. Even in wars parliamentarians were guaranteed safety and an
opportunity to hold negotiations with their enemies. Why deprive
parliamentarians of a possibility of conducting such direct dialogue?”
he said.
Naryshkin believes special attention needs to be given to freedom of
speech, “a profession that symbolizes democracy and a law-governed
state.” “I mean journalism and journalists. The [Ukrainian] authorities
have suspended the broadcasts of Russian channels and many Russian
journalists have been barred from the territory of Ukraine,” he said.
Naryshkin also believes the visa restrictions on all residents of
Crimea essentially violate people’s right to free travel. “Is that in
line with the principles of PACE and democratic traditions? Of course it
is not,” he said.
