Strasbourg  - Ahead of a Council of Europe debate over the Russian-Georgia conflict, a dispute emerted Monday between factions over whether to restrict the Russian deputies' participation.

A number of leftist and liberal deputies argued for punitive action against Russian deputies, but pro-Russian sentiment also appeared to be materializing in the assembly.

A key issue in the dispute concerns the commitment expressed by both Russia and Georgia, when they gained membership in the 47-member body, to settle their conflicts by peaceful means.

Speaking against the Russians, Britain's Labour deputy Denis MacShane said that Russia had destroyed Georgia's territorial integrity.

Russian liberal opposition politician Mikhail Kasyanov charged that Russia had nullified its right to membership in the Council of Europe with its war and aggression against Georgia's local population.

But despite these accusations, diplomats in Strasbourg believed that a majority of deputies in the council would not back any move to restrict or even prohibit the Russian deputies' speaking rights in the upcoming debate.

In a related development, Russian deputies said that as a "good- will signal" they would also not question the Georgian delegates' rights.

The council is to hold debate on Tuesday and Thursday on the Russian-Georgia conflict. On the table is a proposal for setting up an independent international investigation to determine who was responsible for the outbreak of the war. (dpa)