The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) ended its fall session on Friday with the head of Russia's delegation praising the assembly's work on combating extremism.
Extremism, the political situation in Ukraine and discrimination against Roma Gypsies in Europe were the central issues in the session, Russian State Duma Deputy Konstantin Kosachyov said.
These topics pushed the 2008 conflict between Russia and Georgia from the PACE agenda for the first time in two years. Since the end of the five-day war that led to Russia's recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the full assembly has discussed the issue five times.
On Tuesday, however, it passed a resolution expressing concern at the upsurge of certain forms of extremism in Europe, particularly racism and xenophobia.
The parliamentarians called on European governments to devise clear and sustainable immigration policies and develop international legal mechanisms to crack down on the financing of extremist groups. They also urged stricter enforcement of national laws against public incitement to violence, racial discrimination and intolerance, including Islamophobia.
RIA Novosti
