The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voted for the withdrawal of the Russian Federation from its membership

In PACE, 216 out of 219 votes were cast for Russia's withdrawal from the Council of Europe. The Committee of Ministers will acquaint itself with the opinion on this matter.

It's worth reminding that Russia's membership in the Council of Europe has been suspended since February 25 - a day after Moscow launched a military special operation in Ukraine.

"The Russian Federation can no longer be a member state of the Council of Europe", - PACE stated after an extraordinary meeting on March 15.

The assembly believes that Moscow has committed “gross violations of the Charter of the Council of Europe” in relation to Ukraine, incompatible with the status of a member state.

The document says that the committee of ministers should ask Russia to “immediately withdraw from the Council of Europe”, and in case of failure to comply with the requirement “to determine the earliest possible date”, from which Russia will cease to be a member of the council.

On Monday, March 14, the Russian delegation decided to suspend work in PACE and refused to take part in the meetings due to the “anti-Russian” orientation of the assembly. According to the head of the Russian delegation to PACE, Petr Tolstoy, Russia may soon denounce the agreement and withdraw from the Council Europe.

Experts believe that in the event of such a step, the Russians will no longer be able to seek help from the ECtHR.