A UK-led coalition of northern European and Baltic states bordering Russia on Tuesday urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept Ukraine’s demand for an immediate ceasefire to “stop the deepening humanitarian crisis”.
At the same time, Russia decided, on Tuesday, to leave the Council of Europe, accusing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union of making it a tool in the service of their “military, political and economic expansion to the east”, on the twentieth day of the start of the Russian forces’ attack on Ukraine.
The leaders of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden met in London on Tuesday as members of the Joint Expeditionary Force to “reaffirm our commitment to restoring peace and security in Europe.”
And they said in a statement: “We call on Russia to implement an immediate and consolidate a ceasefire to stop it.” humanitarian crisis and to allow rapid and unimpeded access to food, water and medical assistance for civilians in Ukraine.
Forum leaders condemned “in the strongest possible terms Putin’s brutal attack on Ukraine, its territorial integrity and people”, and described it as a “flagrant violation of the sovereignty, freedom and independence of a democratic European state.”
In a clear reference to the Baltic states’ concerns, they added: “We need to ensure that such actions remain unacceptable and that no other country falls victim to violent expansionist attempts, and to this end, we will ensure that the Joint Support Force continues to play a credible role in contributing to defense and deterrence.” in the region, and to preserve our countries and our continent.”
From Kyiv (archive – AFP)
Russia turns its back on Europe
On Moscow’s decision to withdraw from the Council of Europe, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “the notification of the withdrawal of the Russian Federation from the organization” was delivered on Tuesday to the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, Maria Pecevonich Boric.
Council of Europe spokesman Daniel Holtgen confirmed receipt of this notification.
The Council of Europe monitors respect for human rights on the continent, and was established in 1949, and includes almost all the countries of the continent (47 countries), including Russia since 1996, and Ukraine since 1995. Only Belarus, an ally of Moscow, is not a member of it.
“Those who force us to take this step will bear full responsibility for the destruction of the common humanitarian and legal space on the continent and the consequences for the Council of Europe, which without Russia will lose its status as a pan-European body,” the Russian Foreign Ministry added.
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
pressure on Russia
One of the main consequences of this withdrawal is that the 145 million Russian citizens will not benefit from the protection of the European Court of Human Rights, the judicial arm of the Council of Europe, and the last resort once morest any arbitrary decisions of their country’s courts.
Moscow is the main source of files considered by the European Court of Human Rights. More than 24% of the cases currently before the court are related to Russia, and some of them are highly symbolic files, such as the case of the opposition Alexei Navalny.
In its statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused the institutions of the Council of Europe, including the court, of being “used systematically to exert pressure on Russia and to interfere in its internal affairs.”
The day following the launch of the Russian attack on Ukraine on February 24, the Council of Europe decided to suspend Russia’s participation in all its bodies except for the European Court of Human Rights. Several Russian officials hinted last weekend that Moscow was preparing to leave the Council of Europe permanently, without submitting an official request so far.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe was meeting on Monday and Tuesday to decide a possible expulsion of Russia from the organization due to “serious violations of the internal rules of the Council of Europe” committed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
blunt maneuver
Russia decided to anticipate matters, declaring that it would withdraw before it was subjected to the humiliation of expulsion.
One of the repercussions of Russia’s decision to withdraw is to deprive the Council of Europe of approximately 7% of its annual budget of 500 million euros.
“This announcement is an impudence on the part of Russia,” said Lisa Yasko, a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
And she added: “They think that they can save their reputation, but the whole world is witness to the crimes they commit. It is remarkable that the announcement came hours before the decision to expel Russia anyway from the organization. It should have happened before, but this organization does not have a powerful enough tool. To stop Russia’s crimes. We are living through a tragic chapter in our history, and my country is paying a very heavy price.”
Crimea (AFP)
“This is a crude maneuver to try to soften the weight of what we were going to vote on,” said Nicole Tres, head of the French delegation and vice-president of the Parliamentary Assembly. “There were 46 countries assembled here and there was unanimity to expel Russia. That has never happened since the founding of the Council of Europe.”
This is the second time that the Council has faced such a scenario. Greece did the same and left the Council of Europe before being expelled in 1969 under the military dictatorship. She returned to the ranks of the General Council in 1974.
In 2014, Russian parliamentarians in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe were denied the right to vote following Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. After five years of intense tension, the Russian delegation was able to return to the Parliamentary Assembly in 2019, despite the absolute opposition of Ukrainian parliamentarians.
The Ministerial Committee of the Council of Europe will hold a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the situation.
