Pushkov: PACE does not want to lose Moscow as a partner

The head of the Russian delegation to PACE Alexei Pushkov said that despite the aggressive rhetoric, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe does not want to lose Moscow as a partner. He stated this on the air of the Russia-24 TV channel .

“It would seem a radical, harsh (resolution), but why not (not adopted)? Because they understood very well that if they accept the proposal to deprive the Russian delegation of its powers, then Russia may end up not appearing in PACE, and they don't want that. They want to keep us, they want to criticize us, they want to keep the opportunity to promote themselves at our expense, to be able to look terribly principled at the expense of Russia,” Pushkov said.

Finally, PACE adopted an amendment depriving the Russian delegation of the right to vote and excluding it from all the governing bodies of the Assembly until the end of 2014.