“This outspoken political decision of the Council of Ministers has become another proof that the Council of Europe has lost its independence and has become an obedient tool of the Western camp and its satellites,” a council spokesman said in a statement. Foreign Affairs.
According to Maria Zakharova, in the future, Moscow will decide what to do next following this decision.
“All responsibility for the destruction of common law and humanitarian space on the continent falls on those who encouraged and supported this wrong decision, with the inevitable detrimental consequences for the Council of Europe,” he declared.
“Without Russia, the Council of Europe would lose its pan-European identity,” he added.
The decision, taken in Strasbourg on Friday, marks Russia’s suspension of its participation in the Council of Ministers and the House of Representatives, which guarantees compliance with democratic principles on the European continent.
In practice, this decision means that the Russian Federation is a member of the European Council and a party to relevant traditions, including the European Conference on Human Rights.
There is also a judge elected on behalf of Russia to the European Court of Human Rights, and appeals against that country will continue to be heard and decided by that court.