The PACE leadership is trying to “build engagement with Russian civil society” against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.
On March 20, the leadership of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) held a meeting with representatives of the so-called “Russian democratic forces.” This was reported by the press service of the Council of Europe on Tuesday, March 21.
At the meeting, an “exchange of views” took place. Its aim is to “activate dialogue and explore ways of cooperation” with PACE in the future.
This meeting is a kind of continuation of some PACE resolutions, where it repeatedly called for “developing relations with Russian civil society, human rights activists, independent journalists, academics and democratic forces.”
The Council of Europe emphasized that the representatives of the Russian Federation with whom the contact took place must respect the values and principles of the organization, including the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
The meeting participants agreed to continue this dialogue.
From the Russian side, the meeting was attended by:
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President of the Free Russia Foundation, Natalia Arno,
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Dmitry Gudkov (Russian Anti-War Committee / Russian Action Committee),
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Gennady Gudkov (Public Movement For a Free Russia),
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Sergey Guriev, (Russian Anti-War Committee / Real Russia Project / Anti-Corruption Foundation),
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Evgenia Kara-Murza (Free Russia Foundation),
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Gary Kasparov (Free Russia Forum / Russian Action Committee / Russian Anti-War Committee),
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Mikhail Khodorkovsky (Russian Anti-War Committee / Russian Action Committee).
It should be noted that MEP and former Prime Minister of Lithuania Andrius Kubilius believes that in order to help Russian citizens free themselves from imperial nostalgia, Ukraine should be accepted into NATO.
According to him, it is necessary to help Ukraine to become a member of NATO, because “in some Western capitals there is also no faith in democracy in Russia“In this regard, when in Europe they start talking about a complete military victory for Ukraine, some representatives of Western governments “are afraid that such a victory will lead to the collapse of Russia and chaos, with loss of control over nuclear weapons. “
As we have already reported, at the spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe there will be an urgent debate on the forced deportation of Ukrainian children by Russia.
It should be noted that more than 16,000 complaints about Ukrainian children illegally exported to the Russian Federation have now been officially registered, of which 307 children have been repatriated.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.