The State Duma assesses Russia's complaint to the European Court of Human Rights against Ukraine

22.07.2021, Moscow.

The head of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Leonid Kalashnikov expressed hope that Moscow will go on the offensive on all fronts in connection with Russia’s first ever interstate complaint to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), RIA Novosti reported July 22.

Earlier, Moscow filed a complaint with the ECHR over the events that followed the nationalist coup d’état in Ukraine in 2014. Russia accuses Ukraine of violating the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Kalashnikov fervently supported the initiative.

“My opinion: finally. I’ve been fighting with our Ministry of Justice for years, that you stop only defending – you defend the interests of the country themselves first of all, and that, as if these international organizations were created to beat us up. They keep beating us up all over the place, both in the ECtHR and in the PACE, which constantly passes these resolutions against us,” said the deputy.

He reminded that Russia is the third largest contributor to the OPCW, the Olympic Committee, and other federations.

Kalashnikov is sure that Russia should “have an offensive position on all fronts and in all organizations.” At the same time, he recalled that the Soviet Union was not only represented in these organizations, it had influence and was feared.

“It could snap back, it could arrange demarches, sue,” said the head of the Committee.

The deputy recalled Russia’s behavior in 2014. When there was a coup d’état in Kiev, which forced then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to flee the country, even then Kalashnikov raised the question at the PACE Legal Commission about the illegality of these actions and demanded to make a request to the Venice Commission. While at first the commission condemned what had happened in Ukraine, PACE Secretary General Wojciech Sawicki later appealed the decision under the pretext of the wrong question being put to the vote.

“That is, they are afraid of it. Otherwise the Venice Commission would have said: yes, this is an incorrect, unreasonable decision – and then there would have been a completely different attitude of the PACE… But then, alas, Russia did not insist, and I was not supported in this situation to the end,” said Kalashnikov. He concluded that there is “a lot of things to put forward with regard to Ukraine, and it will be very difficult to refute it.”

Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency

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