Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed disappointment with the decision of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to confirm the rights of the Russian delegation.

"I am disappointed with the PACE's decision to approve without limitation the rights of the delegation of the Russian Federation. Last week I personally discussed this issue with the French President and the Federal Chancellor of Germany. I tried to convince Mr. Macron and Mrs. Merkel that the return of the Russian delegation to the PACE is possible only after Russia will meet the Assembly's fundamental requirements. It is a pity that our European partners did not hear us and acted in a different way," Zelensky wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday.

He thanked the delegation of the Verkhovna Rada to the PACE and national delegations friendly to Ukraine for supporting the Ukrainian position on this issue.

Also, the President of Ukraine said that the main argument in favor of the return of the Russian delegation was the need to protect human rights and the rights of citizens as the highest democratic values. "I hope that in the issue of protecting democratic values no one had any thoughts about material values," Zelensky wrote.

At the same time, the head of the Ukrainian state said: "I also want to see how supporters of the return of the Russian delegation to the PACE – an organization that has defended the rule of law in Europe for 70 years – will defend and demand another return – the return of captured Ukrainian sailors. I recall that today, on June 25, the relevant order of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is about to expire. We look forward to how the declared provisions on the rule of law will be implemented in real life."