Russian delegation will not go to the summer session of the OSCE PA in Canada

The delegation from Russia will not go to the summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA), because they were not given guarantees of a normal stay in Vancouver. About this in a conversation with TASS informed head of the delegation, Vice Speaker of the State Duma Pyotr Tolstoy.

“The Russian delegation is not going to Canada for the summer session of the OSCE PA, since neither the OSCE leadership nor Canada has provided us with any guarantees to ensure the normal stay of the Russian delegation and normal work in the assembly in Vancouver,” he said.

Tolstoy also noted that attempts are now being made to “change the regulations and destroy the consensus principle of decision-making,” which is unacceptable.

The Russian delegation also did not take part in the summer session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly last year either. The reason was the refusal to issue visas to Russian delegates. A similar situation occurred in the autumn session. However, the Russian delegation took part in the work of the winter session, which was held in February 2023 in Vienna.

In early April, the Council of the State Duma accepted the decision to suspend the payment of contributions to the budget of the OSCE PA and to re-credit for 2023 the contribution that Russia paid last year. According to State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Russia is facing attempts to obstruct the work of its delegation in the OSCE PA, so the country should not pay for something in which it did not participate. “If they don’t let them work this year, we will demand that the previously paid fee be returned,” Volodin stressed.

The summer session will be held from June 30 to July 4 in Vancouver. Discussions at the 30th session will focus on strengthening regional security through the development of democratic and inclusive societies and the role of the OSCE PA in this process.