Volodin confirmed the readiness to hold a meeting with the speaker of PACE – TASS

MOSCOW, October 21. /TASS/. Chairman of the state Duma Vyacheslav Volodin has confirmed the readiness to hold a meeting with the President of the parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Pedro Agramunt to discuss the development of inter-parliamentary relations.

this is stated in the letter from the head of the lower house of the Russian Parliament Agramunt, published on the official website of the state Duma.

“Responding to the wishes of the PACE President about personal meeting, Vyacheslav Volodin confirmed the readiness to hold her and continue the discussion concerning the development of inter-parliamentary relations”, – reported on its website.

Earlier this week Agramunt sent a letter to Volodin, in which he congratulated him on his election as speaker of the state Duma expressed support for Russia’s return to the platform Assembly, and expressed willingness to hold the meeting.

In his response, the Chairman of the state Duma noted that “the approaches of Agramunt work PACE as a platform for political dialogue and mutual communication between the parliamentary delegations of all the 47 member countries can only be welcomed”. “I hope the coincidence of our views on the basic principles of democracy and parliamentarism, which is contrary to deprivation voting rights and powers of delegation will allow us to resume a comprehensive dialogue in the framework of PACE,” the letter said Volodin address Agramunt.

the Russian delegation in PACE in April 2014 had been deprived of basic powers, including the right to vote and participate in the work of the governing bodies of the Assembly and its monitoring missions to observe elections in the space of the Council of Europe because of events in Ukraine and the reunification of the Crimea with Russia.

In 2015, the PACE has twice considered the question of the restoration of the Russian delegation of its rights, sanctions will continue in effect. In response, Russia said it would suspend its involvement in PACE activity until the end of 2015. In early 2016, Moscow has refused to apply for participation in the January session of the Assembly which confirmed the credentials of delegations for the entire year.

in the aftermath of the 18 September elections to the lower house of the Russian Parliament to begin the formation of a new composition of the Duma part of the Russian delegation to PACE. In a statement on 20 October letter Volodin Agramunt noted that the Assembly, being one of the statutory bodies of the Council of Europe should be “a platform for political dialogue and relations between the parliamentary delegations of 46, all 47 member countries”, bearing in mind the need to return to Russia to work in the organization.