MOSCOW, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Council of Europe (CoE) Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland will pay a working visit to Russia from Tuesday to Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
Jagland is scheduled to have talks Wednesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, it said in a press release.
The parties will discuss further cooperation between Russia and the CoE, the situation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE (PACE), and interaction between Russia and the European Court of Human Rights, it said.
Russia joined the CoE in February 1996 to become its 39th member. Currently, it actively participates in the work of all the CoE bodies, except for the PACE.
"Unfortunately, the parliamentary dimension of the CoE turned out to be hostage to a relatively small but well-organized group of representatives of anti-Russian forces," the ministry said.
In April 2014, the PACE approved resolutions depriving the Russian delegation of the right to vote due to Crimea.
Russia decided to leave the PACE in late 2015, repeatedly stressing that it will only return to the organization after the full restoration of its voting right.
Moscow also suspended the payment of its contribution to the CoE in 2017, although it continues to fulfill all other obligations under the CoE conventions.
