“For five years now, Crimea has been one of the main issues of the Council of Europe. From this example, you can learn a lot: you can see what democracy is, a referendum, what it looks like when people vote freely, ”the Serbian MP said.
He also expressed the opinion that Crimeans voted at the referendum in 2014 for returning to Russia, since “they didn’t want to be burned like their compatriots in Odessa”.
According to the agency, after this phrase, some parliamentarians in the hall began to knock and shout in English.
PACE President Lilian Mori Pasquier called everyone to order and turned to one of the deputies.
“I don't seem to give you the words ... Mr. Goncharenko,” she said.
It became known earlier that PACE had rejected the draft on the return of the Russian delegation at the June session.
Crimea became part of Russia after the referendum held in March 2014. Most voters supported the entry of the peninsula into the Russian Federation.