"He spoke favorably of an invitation to take part in the May 19-20 spring session of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] members which will be held in St. Petersburg. In response, we received an invitation to Strasbourg to the European conference of chairs of the upper and lower houses of parliaments," Matvienko said.
A PACE resolution in April 2014 deprived the Russian delegation of its voting rights, after Crimea became a part of Russia. Russian lawmakers were barred from participating in PACE's three key bodies — its bureau, presidential committee and standing committee.
The 2014 resolution curbing Russia’s rights in PACE was renewed in April 2015, while additional confirmation of the delegation's credentials was scheduled to take place in the winter session.
Russia was accepted into the Council of Europe, a regional intergovernmental organization, on February 28, 1996. PACE is considered Europe’s oldest international parliamentary institution.
