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Thu, 02 Jul, 2015 12:01:48 AM Finland denies short-term waiver of travel ban on Duma chairman FTimes- STT-Xinhua Report, July 2  A file picture taken on January 25, 2015 shows Russia's State Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin attending a press conference after a meeting with Luxemburg's Anne Brasseur.Russia on July 1 slammed Finland for refusing parliament speaker Sergei Naryshkin a visa, the first time he has been denied entry to the European Union after being put on a blacklist over Ukraine. Photo – AFP / Lehtikuva. The Russian speaker of the lower house of parliament, Sergei Naryshkin, said Russia will not send a delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting in Helsinki, news agency STT reported quoting Russian news agency Interfax on Wednesday.
Naryshkin said the Russian delegation will attend the next OSCE session which will be held in the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator.
President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov termed the decision to refuse the chairman of the State Duma entry to Finland scandalous.
Naryshkin believes the decision to refuse the delegation entry has been made under pressure from Brussels and Washington.
Earlier, Finland has declined to temporarily exempt the chairman of Russian State Duma from an EU travel ban to participate in a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to be held in Helsinki, news agency Xinhua reported quoting Finnish national broadcaster Yle.
Sergei Naryshkin, speaker of Russian Parliament, is subject to a travel ban by the EU after the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis. He was invited to attend a meeting of the OSCE's parliamentary group scheduled for July 5 to 9 in Helsinki.
The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Yle that it has rejected a short-term waiver of the travel restriction for Naryshkin. The rejection means that the Russian official will be not allowed to enter Finland to participate in the meeting.
The table meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE besides a Christmas tree in the Helsinki Fair Centre in Helsinki, Finland on December 4, 2008. File Photo – Lehtikuva. Paivi Kaukoranta, Director General of Legal Service at the Ministry, was quoted as saying that Finland has been in consultation with other EU countries on the matter as well as experts from the OSCE and the EU.
The decision has been that special arrangements are applicable to the OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly meeting held in Finland, added Kaukoranta.
Five out of the 15 Russian delegation members will not be able to attend the meeting, due to the EU travel restrictions.
Finnish Member of Parliament Ilkka Kanerva, who is also the president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, told news agency STT that he understands Russia will be considering until Thursday whether it will participate in the meeting.
According to Kanerva, the decision not to grant the short-term waiver came from Finland’s EU partners.
The OSCE meeting will deal with, for example, the crisis in Ukraine.
Russia’s possible absence in the meeting will be a loss to the Ukraine discussion.
Former speaker of Finnish parliament and current lawmaker Eero Heinäluoma said he was surprised by the Finnish foreign ministry decision.
Heinäluoma considers the decision strange, since the OSCE meeting’s objective is to promote dialogue and thus contribute to resolving the crisis in Ukraine.
According to Heinäluoma, the decision is not at par with Finland’s foreign policy of promoting dialogue, the STT report said.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of OSCE, the world’s largest security-oriented intergovernmental organisation.
Ministers from over 50 countries have been invited to attend the meeting, according to the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The decision for the OSCE meeting in Helsinki was made before the EU imposed sanctions against Russia for its alleged role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
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| Friday, 26 April, 2024 |
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