(ANSA-AFP) - VIENNA, FEB 22 - In their first trip to the EU
since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Russian MPs are due at an
international meeting in Austria on Thursday despite sanctions
and a planned boycott by Kyiv. EU member Austria said it would
not bar the Russian delegation from a meeting in Vienna by the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, citing its
legal obligation as host to the OSCE seat. But Ukraine and
European Union member Lithuania have said they would boycott the
meeting over the participation of the Russian delegation headed
by Pyotr Tolstoy, deputy chairman of the Russian parliament's
lower house, who is under international sanctions. "They
(Russians) are not interested in discussion, dialogue. They are
coming only for propaganda," Ukraine delegation head Mykyta
Poturaiev told reporters in Vienna on Wednesday. "It is
unacceptable to have in common meetings people who are
responsible, who voted for this war," he added. Ukraine was
joined by 19 other countries to protest the Russian
parliamentarians' attendance in a letter sent to the Austrian
government at the beginning of February. (ANSA-AFP).
© Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved