Russia will not send its delegation to the January session of the PACE, because the regulations of the Assembly have not been amended to protect the rights of national delegations from discrimination, Vice Speaker of the State Duma Pyotr Tolstoy told TASS.

According to him, Russian decision to abstain from working in the PACE in the plenary format remains in force until the regulations are changed.

“But we consulted with PACE members on this issue and we will move ahead to convince our colleagues that any discrimination of national delegations primarily harms the organization itself,” said Pyotr Tolstoy.

Responding to a concern about the possibility of inviting the members of the PACE Presidential Committee to Moscow after the January session to discuss the future cooperation between Russia and the Council of Europe, Vice Speaker of the State Duma explained “this will depend on how the consultation stage will be held after the January session.”