"A letter signed by the speakers of the Russian parliament's chambers will now be sent to PACE President Anne Brasseur in order to announce that a request for the Russian delegation's powers in 2016 will be made later. We will skip the January session," Chairman of the State Duma CIS Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky said.
Russia will return to Strasbourg only "on equal terms", if it is guaranteed the reinstatement of all powers of the Russian delegation.
A week before the session, it was announced that the issue concerning the extension of sanctions against Russia can be tackled on the first day of the meeting.
A PACE resolution in April 2014 deprived the Russian delegation of its voting rights, following Crimea’s reunification with Russia. Russian lawmakers were barred from participating in PACE's three key bodies — its bureau, its presidential committee and the standing committee.
In response the Russian delegation said it suspended its participation in PACE activities till the end of 2015 and has been skipping PACE sessions in protest against the sanctions ever since.
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