According to the Nova agency, Russia should return to the activities of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Peace) before the summit of the organization in 2018. This is the opinion expressed by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland , according to the Ukrainian newspaper “Evropeyskaja Pravda”.
According to Jagland, the return of Russia should come by changing the rules of the Peace Assembly to a level that "brings all member countries of the organization back to the edge." “Harmonizing the rules of the organization is part of our job. Achieving this goal would be the best way to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the organization's foundation ", said Jagland, according to whom the process includes the removal of sanctions by the delegation of the Russian Federation, and the consequent restoration of the protection of the organs of the Council of Europe in the territory of "all 47 member countries".
“Europe shouldn't be divided again. A new division will harm everyone, ”said the secretary general. Earlier, the newly elected President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Michele Nicoletti, stated that he would insist on continuing the dialogue with the State Duma of the Russian Federation and expressed regret that Russia refused to participate. at the Peace work in January 2018. "It is a pity that the Russian parliament did not present a delegation for the 2018 session. However, the dialogue with the Russian parliament will continue," Nicoletti noted.