Foreign Ministry: Russia’s withdrawal from the Council of Europe is not a whim, but a well-thought-out decision

Moscow, March 24, 2023, 02:44 — REGNUM Russia’s withdrawal from the Council of Europe was the right decision, and Moscow will no longer return to this organization, said on March 24 the director of the department for pan-European cooperation of the Russian Foreign Ministry Nikolai Kobrinets in an interview with TASS.

“Over the past year, we have only become convinced of the correctness of the choice made. Our “divorce” with Strasbourg is not a caprice, but a well-thought-out decision that has matured over a number of years. The current Council of Europe is not at all the same organization that we joined in 1996. Double standards, hypocrisy and Russophobia have become its hallmarks. It is clear that with such a Council of Europe we are not on our way.”Kobrinets said.

The diplomat noted that the unifying principles and democratic ideals declared in the statute of the Council of Europe “were sacrificed to bloc interests”. According to him, the West turned the organization into its ideological appendage and used it to impose “dubious” progressive “values ​​and undisguised pressure on Russia.”

“The page has been turned. There is nothing to regret… Westerners in Strasbourg will continue to pour their poison in large buckets, not realizing that the CE has degenerated through their efforts. It doesn’t concern us anymore.”Kobrinets emphasized.

The diplomat noted that the Council of Europe had a lot of useful things, especially for the development of Russian legislation, but for Moscow this is already a passed stage.

Recall that Russia left the Council of Europe in March 2022. The Russian Foreign Ministry explained the exit from the organization by a significant restriction of Russia’s rights in the Council of Europe, which led to the virtual impossibility of defending national interests.

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