Russia did not wait to be kicked out of the Council of Europe and is withdrawing of its own accord

"EVROPEISKA PRAVDA" (EUROPEAN TRUTH) - TUESDAY, 15 MARCH 2022, 18:12

Russian State Duma Vice-Speaker, Pyotr Tolstoy, informed that the Secretary General of the Council of Europe had been handed a letter by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about Russia's withdrawal from the organisation.

Tolstoy posted about this on his Telegram channel, Evropeiska Pravda reports.

Tolstoy said that Russia is withdrawing from the Council of Europe "of its own free will, it is a thought out and measured decision". It should be noted that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) was considering a resolution on Tuesday evening, which, if approved, will initiate the procedure for Russia's complete expulsion from the Council of Europe, because of the war that Russia has unleashed against Ukraine.

Tolstoy said that the decision to withdraw was taken "in the midst of another anti-Russian debate in PACE, which may result in another lying, Russophobic resolution, based on speculation that has no relation to reality".

Tolstoy added that Russia has no plans to pay the annual fee to the Council of Europe.

If Russia withdraws from the Council of Europe, it will denounce the European Convention on Human Rights, the head of the Duma international committee, Slutsky, said.

According to the Statute of the Council of Europe, the legal termination of membership will take place only at the end of the current fiscal year, i.e. on 31 December.

Watch Evropeiska Pravda's explanation of what changes with Russia's expulsion from the Council of Europe: Russia leaves the Council of Europe. What about the court in Strasbourg, the ECHR?

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denis Schmigal, speaking at the extraordinary PACE meeting on Monday, said that Ukraine was demanding Russia's immediate expulsion from the Council of Europe, because of the war that Russia has unleashed on the country's territory.

Because of Russia's war against Ukraine, the Council of Europe has already suspended Russia's membership in two bodies, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).