OREANDA-NEWS. The Secretary General of the Council of Europe Maria Peichinovich-Burich on Wednesday at a press conference expressed satisfaction with the return of the Russian delegation to PACE, noting that work in full force will better meet the modern challenges that the organization faces. "I am glad that all 47 countries are again present at this PACE winter session", she said. "This is a good basis for progress in many areas and challenges that confront us".

The Russian delegation to PACE in April 2014, due to events in Ukraine and the reunification of Crimea with Russia, was deprived of the right to vote, participate in observation missions and be a member of the governing bodies of PACE. In 2015, PACE twice considered the issue of restoring the powers of the Russian delegation, but then the sanctions only tightened. In response, the delegation of the Russian Federation announced its refusal to work under such conditions, and in 2016-2018 did not send an application for confirmation of its authority in the assembly.

Due to non-participation in PACE, Moscow in 2017 froze the payment of its contribution to the Council of Europe. On July 2, it became known that Moscow had paid a contribution to the Council of Europe budget for 2019.