A “recurring contact platform” will be created by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for dialogue with representatives of Russian democratic opposition forces. The aim, according to PACE President Tiny Kox, is “to help to develop proposals and generate ideas for the future democratic transformation of Russia in such a way that the country no longer poses a threat to its neighbours and to international law, as well as to its citizens”. The shared aim is “to achieve a sustainable peace for Ukraine, restore its territorial integrity and ensure Russia’s full accountability for its war crimes and aggression”, a press release reads. The platform would also like to support “those courageous Russians who share our values”, so that that they are not abandoned and can count on the support of the international organisation. The announcement was made today at the end of a public meeting on the margins of the Assembly’s second day of work in Strasbourg. Among the speakers at the hearing were Natalia Arno, president of the Free Russia Foundation; Gennady Gudkov, former deputy of the State Duma and president of “For a Free Russia”; Sergei Guriev, Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Sergey Aleksashenko, from the Russian Anti-War Committee; Evgenia Kara-Murza, wife of Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza; and political scientist Ekaterina Shulman.