The Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has approved a preliminary draft decision on confirming the powers of the Russian delegation without any restrictions.

The document, prepared by ex-head of the committee, Austrian MP Stefan Schennach, was circulated in the Assembly on Tuesday evening, the Internet edition European Pravda reported.

The draft proposes to admit that on a number of issues Russia has deviated from its obligations to the Council of Europe, and has recently further worsened the situation. In particular, the document criticizes the amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which make it possible not to implement the decisions of the ECHR; providing the Russian parliament with leverage over the Constitutional Court; additional steps aimed at consolidating the illegal annexation of Crimea, and the like.

In addition, the PACE condemns the authoritarian tendencies that have exacerbated recently; tightening of norms that undermine freedom of assembly, the struggle of the Russian government against non-governmental organizations, and the like. A separate block of accusations is devoted to the unresolved poisoning of Alexei Navalny and the suppression of recent protests.

Despite the harsh criticism, the draft proposes not to impose any sanctions on the Russian Federation in PACE, explaining this by "a desire for dialogue," the European Pravda said.

On Wednesday, PACE members can submit their comments to this draft. The vote for the document will take place on Thursday morning.