The Russian Federation aims to destroy the reputation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe within the Council of Europe, member of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction, head of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE Volodymyr Ariev has said, commenting on the visit of Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland to Moscow on October 20.

"First, the president of PACE discredits the Assembly by visiting the dictator Assad, then a massive corruption scandal, the results of the investigation will be known in December and will be a backfire to many. Now Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Jagland, is dragging Russia into PACE, thus, interfering in the affairs of such independent body, like the Assembly, realizing that the unconditional return of the Russian Federation will lead to discrediting the PACE," Ariev wrote on Facebook.

"Consequently, I am not alone who sees the goal - to destroy the reputation of the Assembly within the Council of Europe and, as a consequence, to reduce its influence in the organization, including by institutional changes. And in this case Russia is only an instrument in the hands of certain functionaries of the Council of Europe. An instrument that considers itself an independent player," the MP said.

Jagland in Moscow met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the Russian delegation to PACE. The main issues at the meeting were the return of the Russian delegation to the PACE.