The Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has challenged the Russian delegation’s credentials, as Ukrainian delegation member and deputy from the European Solidarity faction Oleksiy Honcharenko said.

This was announced by Deputy Alexei Goncharenko in his Telegram channel and Facebook page.

On January 25, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe supported Ukraine's initiative to appeal against the credentials of the Russian Federation in PACE. The decision was backed by 38 deputies, while only 30 votes were necessary Honcharenko said.

“The credentials of the Russian delegation have just been officially challenged at the PACE meeting,” Honcharenko said on Facebook on Jan. 25.

Now the matter will be referred to the Monitoring Committee, which will prepare a relevant report, and the Committee on Rules of Procedure, which will prepare an opinion, Honcharenko said. The report and the opinion will be submitted for the consideration of the assembly, which will make the final decision.

According to the PACE regulations, only procedural problems or substantial grounds are considered a reason for appeal. A violation of Article 5 of the Statute of the Council of Europe, which states that each member accepts the principles of the rule of law and of the enjoyment by all persons within its jurisdiction of human rights and fundamental freedoms, is a substantial ground. Thus, the matter will soon be referred to as the Monitoring Committee.

Russia, in turn, threatened to withdraw from PACE if Russia’s delegation credentials would not be confirmed. According to RIA Novosti, this was stated by Leonid Slutsky, Russia’s representative to the Parliamentary Assembly.

"Once again, double standards and a politicized approach prevailed in the Council of Europe: the credentials of the Russian delegation were challenged in PACE at the initiative of Ukraine. The Monitoring Commission will prepare the report within 24 hours, which the Assembly should consider before the end of the session and take its final decision," Slutsky stated.

He added that if nothing changes, the Russian delegation will not participate in PACE sessions.

"Nothing has changed in our position on this issue: if Russia's credentials in PACE are not fully confirmed, the delegation will leave Strasbourg and will not participate in PACE sessions. We do not accept any illegal restrictions or sanctions. This contradicts the very nature of parliamentarism. I hope the Assembly has enough common sense not to create a new crisis in relations with Russia," he said.

As was earlier reported by "Apostrophe", on January 21, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on a number of cases during the Revolution of Dignity. The court accused former Ukrainian authorities of violating human rights.