The Venice Commission said that the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation does not deprive Russian deputies of the right to participate in the work of PACE. At the same time, the possibility of applying other sanctions or restrictions against deputies from the Russian Federation is on the table. This is stated in the decision of the Venice Commission, which will be made public on Monday, reports “European Truth”.
The Commission notes that both the Council of Europe and its member states "have a clear obligation not to recognize the annexation, explicitly or implicitly."
"The document emphasizes that the obligation to refuse to recognize the annexation also extends to PACE. However, according to the Venice Commission, "this should not necessarily lead to the deprivation of membership of the entire delegation of the country that carried out the annexation (that is, Russia. – EP)". That is to say, the presence of annexed Crimea as part of the Russian Federation does not yet deprive Russian deputies of the right to participate in the work of PACE", the statement said.
At the same time, there is the possibility of applying other sanctions / restrictions in PACE against MPs from the Russian Federation elected by party lists, due to their being elected in the annexed Crimea, and in some cases even the complete revocation of membership of all or part of the Russian delegates.
Moreover, PACE may eventually increase the list of possible sanctions against the state that carried out the annexation.