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The Belarusian parliament may have its special guest status at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in the nearest future, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Vladimir Andreichenko said in an interview to the Belarus 1 TV channel on 16 September, BelTA has learned.

In January 1997, Belarus lost its special guest status at the PACE. Its absence, however, does not hinder the country to develop cooperation with this international organization, the speaker of the House of Representatives said.

“I would say it restraints to some extent but does not hinder. The main issue is the abolition of death penalty. This, however, does not mean we do not cooperate with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. I think we will have our status in this parliamentary organization restored in the near future,” Vladimir Andreichenko said.

In his words, Belarusian MPs are regularly invited to attend meetings of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy. The committee is expected to sit in early October to discuss the elections in Belarus.

The Council of Europe is a European intergovernmental organization comprising 47 states. It was established on 5 May 1949 and is headquartered in Strasbourg.

The Belarusian delegation received a so-called special guest status at the PACE in September 1992. In March 1993 Belarus applied for membership to the Council of Europe. In January 1997 the status was suspended. Nevertheless, cooperation with the Council of Europe continues in a number of areas. According to representatives of the organization, the main obstacle towards the restoration of the special guest status is the issue of death penalty.