Russian Duma Speaker to boycott PACE

17:29, 27 September 2012

MOSCOW. September 27. KAZINFORM The speaker of the lower house of the Russian parliament, Sergei Naryshkin, refused to speak before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) because of "Russophobes" waiting to pan Russia's political system.

"The closer we got to the opening of the PACE session, the more we felt that my strategic proposals were unlikely to receive a fair hearing from the assembly, from a host of leaders and Russo-phobic delegations," Naryshkin told journalists in Moscow on Thursday. Kazinform has learned from RIA Novosti.

Naryshkin, who was to lead the Russian delegation to the PACE session, had planned to discuss major issues in the development of parliamentarianism in Europe in his speech next Monday.

"[But] there is more interest in other things. I believe it is possible I could address the session when the circumstances are appropriate," Naryshkin said.

The entire Russian squad of 36 parliamentarians may opt to snub the PACE session, State Duma deputy Robert Shlegel said on his Twitter on Thursday, echoing earlier unofficial reports.

But the claim was rejected later the same day by his senior colleague, Alexei Pushkov, the head of the Duma's international affairs committee, who will be replacing Naryshkin as the delegation's head.

Naryshkin's demarche was due to a new resolution on Russia that is in the works at PACE, Pushkov said.

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