Fifteen Russian dissidents in exile will take part in the Platform for Dialogue with Russian Democratic Forces set up by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe last October.
The list of their names was approved by the Bureau of the Assembly on Monday 26 January and validated by the MPs on the 27th.
The first meeting of this Platform will be held on Thursday 29 January in Strasbourg.
“We will not turn our backs on Russians who defend democracy, human rights and freedom – and who reject this war. This Platform will be a place for this other Russia to speak - clearly, openly and without fear”, said Theodoros Rousopoulos, outgoing President of the Assembly, who oversaw the process of creating this structure for dialogue during his term of office.
On the Assembly side, the members will be Petra Bayr, the President elected on Monday, the chairpersons of the political groups and the general rapporteurs on issues relating to the democratic forces in Russia and Belarus or issues such as political prisoners, human rights defenders, whistleblowers and media freedom.
Russian figures in opposition to the Kremlin include Vladimir Kara-Murza, Garry Kasparov, Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Oleg Orlov.
Excluded from the Council of Europe on 16 March 2022, less than three weeks after the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has not reacted to the inclusion of these representatives of “another Russia” within the Strasbourg-based organisation.
Link to the Assembly Resolution establishing the platform: https://aeur.eu/f/kfu (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)