10:36, 16 марта 2022, Bishkek - 24.kg news agency , Maria ORLOVA
Russia has notified the Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić of the Council of Europe of its withdrawal from the organization. TASS reports, citing the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Russia.
Statement of the Foreign Ministry notes that «the states of NATO and the European Union, abusing their majority in the Council of Europe , are consistently turning this organization into an instrument of anti-Russian policy, refusing an equal dialogue and all the principles on which this pan-European structure was created.»
«On February 25, they made a discriminatory decision to suspend Russia’s representation in the statutory bodies of the Council of Europe. Under such conditions our country will not remain a member of the Council of Europe,» the Foreign Ministry noted.
The ministry added that Russia, leaving the Council of Europe, remains open to pragmatic and equal interaction with members of the organization on issues of mutual interest and within the framework of those conventions, participation in which it decides to continue.
The Foreign Ministry noted that Russia would continue to comply with the already adopted rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), if they do not contradict the Constitution of the Russian Federation. «The provisions of the main treaty-legal acts of the Council of Europe are included in Russian legislation. Implementation of already adopted judgments of the European Court of Human Rights will continue, if they do not contradict the Constitution of the Russian Federation,» the document says.
Situation in Ukraine remains complicated. Fighting continues. Russia started a special military operation on February 24, 2022. The number of military and civilian casualties continues to grow. Many states have imposed and continue to impose severe sanctions on Russia.