The Russian Federation withdraws from the Council of Europe.

The decision on Russia’s withdrawal from the Council of Europe has been made. A respective letter by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has been sent to the CE Secretary-General, said Petr Tolstoy, deputy speaker of the State Duma and head of the Russian delegation to the PACE. He stressed that “Russia is withdrawing from the Council of Europe of its own free will; this is a balanced and considered decision.” In addition, the head of the Russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Leonid Slutsky, said that Russia would denounce the European Convention on Human Rights with its withdrawal from the Council of Europe.