Spring Session of PACE Begins: Discussions on Ukraine's Recovery and Frozen Russian Assets to Take Place

The spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) kicks off today in Strasbourg, where discussions will focus on supporting Ukraine's recovery and proposing the use of frozen Russian state assets for this purpose, Ukrinform reports.

On Tuesday, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk will address the deputies, and a corresponding resolution will be voted on.

During the session week, urgent debates will be held on the death of Alexei Navalny and the need to resist Putin's totalitarian regime in its war against democracy, as well as on "the arbitrary detention of Vladimir Kara-Murza and the systematic persecution of anti-war demonstrators in the Russian Federation and Belarus."

Discussions are planned with the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, and the new Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Michael O'Flaherty. Among those speaking at the PACE session is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, Mihail Popșoi.

On the sidelines of the session, the Ukrainian delegation will hold a hearing on "Victims of Enforced Disappearances: How Russia Captures Ukrainian Civilians and Violates International Law."

Another important issue of the session will be debates on Kosovo's application for membership in the Council of Europe and the voting on PACE's draft opinion on this matter.