Monitoring Desk: Russia will soon back be sitting in Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) but this development is seen as accepting an aggressor as partner because situation in Ukraine is same as it was in 2014 when Russia was deprived of the right to vote in PACE after the annexation of the Crimea.
Ulvi Ahmedli, a research Journalist at Eurasia Diary on Regional Affairs and Economy questions how far PACE can go to pursue its own interests by ignoring international law?
He believes that after this development, the violation of international law is possible in other occupied territories like Karabakh and this is a dangerous development for Europe.
Ulvi Ahmedli writes that Russia lost its rights in PACE on April 10, 2014. Russian aggression against Ukraine resulted in the invasion of Crimea and loss of Donetsk and Luhansk which EU accepts it as the violation of the border integrity of sovereign state. Before being deprived rights in PACE, the European Union (EU) imposed targeted sanctions on Russia on March 17, 2014. Russia suspended annual payment to PACE over non-participation in June 2017.
We should remember the visit of US State Secretary Mike Pompeo to Russia on May 14, 2019. Pompeo intends to restore ties with Russia.
After his intention, the same initiation came from PACE. On May 17, 2019, the foreign ministers of 30 member states from 47 spoke in favor of the equal participation of all member states in the organization’s statutory bodies Russia was invited to June Sessions by PACE by voting 118 of 190 votes. 62 were against, 10 members abstained.
After the invitation to the session, some scholars predict the lifting of sanctions on Russia.
Ukraine explains the return of Russia to PACE as the undermining the rights of Council of Europe. New President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced that if Russia gives back its lands then they can go to talks.
Although US and European organizations condemned Russian aggression on Ukraine when it starts, then they stated to ease the tensions between Russia and their sides. Indirectly, it means they fell on deaf ears on Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk.
