Russia: Lifting sanctions would assist Russian reconciliation with PACE - Pushkov

Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the Russian State Duma Alexei Pushkov held a meeting with the Finnish delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Moscow, Wednesday, calling for sanctions against Russia to be lifted in a bid to return to the body.
Pushkov stated that "mutual and simultaneous lifting of sanctions against the [Russian] parliamentarians" would be "a very important step," which would help "end the stand-off" between Russia and Finland.
The head of the Finnish delegation Maria Guzenina highlighted the importance of a dialogue in finding a solution, adding that "if there is no dialogue, there is no cooperation."
The Russian PACE delegation was effectively suspended from any decision-making role in April 2014, following the conflict in east Ukraine and Crimea, which meant that Russia was deprived of its right to vote and participate in the work of PACE. In 2015, PACE considered restoring the rights of the Russian delegation twice, albeit without lifting the sanctions. In response, Russia suspended its participation in all PACE activities. The leaders of Russia's delegation at PACE have numerously repeated that Russia would return to PACE only after all the sanctions are lifted.