Russia says Islamophobia in PACE reached 'unprecedented scale'

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Islamophobia in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has reached "unprecedented scale," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a press briefing in Russia's resort city of Sochi, Zakharova said double standards, arrogance, intolerance towards representatives of different religions, primarily Islamophobia, flourish in PACE, one of the two statutory organs of the Council of Europe.

"Yes, I represent a country in which many people, most of them profess Orthodox Christianity. But now I'm talking about Islamophobia in PACE first of all, although they still damage Christian values, but Islamophobia in PACE has reached an unprecedented scale, it has simply become indecent," she stressed.

The spokeswoman emphasized that such destructive activities of the West caused a serious crisis in the Council of Europe, and everything connected to human rights and humanitarian cooperation "came into imbalance."

"We proceed from the fact that everything PACE is currently doing is absolutely politicized. And not only in this organization, but also in many related ones, the same Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe," she said.

Zakharova also questioned PACE reasoning for suspending the participation of the Azerbaijani delegation, saying: "The Assembly refused to confirm the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegation until the country fully fulfills its 'introductory obligations.' Is everything okay with Ukraine at PACE? No complaints? Are the introductory obligations fully fulfilled?"

In January, PACE refused to ratify the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegation in a vote, claiming that the country "did not fulfill major commitments" and showed a "lack of cooperation."

In response, Azerbaijan's delegation to PACE announced that it had ceased engagement with the assembly until further notice and expressed that it made this decision "in the face of current unbearable atmosphere of racism, Azerbaijanophobia and Islamophobia."