The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has unanimously adopted a draft resolution calling for Russia’s expulsion from the CoE.

None of Armenia’s four PACE representatives participated in the vote.

The resolution, in part, states: “In the common European home, there is no place for an aggressor. The Committee of Ministers should request the Russian Federation to withdraw from the Council of Europe. Should the Russian Federation not comply with the request, the Committee of Ministers should envisage the immediate possible date from which the Russian Federation would cease to be a member of the Council of Europe.”

In February, the Council of Europe criticized Russia's recognition of the independence of the self-proclaimed People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as its invasion of Ukraine. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe terminated Russia's representation in the committee, PACE and other bodies.

On March 15, Russia, which has been participating in the work of the Council of Europe since 1996, began the process of leaving the organization. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the council had become a "structure for aggressively sowing the neoliberal approach to human rights" in violation of the principles and values ​​enshrined in the organization's charter.

Photo: Reuters