Russia is leaving the Council of Europe human rights organization, announced Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday as Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that recent talks with Ukraine haven’t shown any progress yet.
The Council of Europe oversees the European Court of Human Rights, which hears cases from individuals alleging their rights were violated. With Russia’s exit from the body, Russian citizens cannot bring cases to the court.
A letter from Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov announcing Russia’s exit was handed to the head of the Council of Europe, said Russian Duma Deputy Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy.
“All responsibility for breaking off the dialogue with the Council of Europe lies with the NATO countries, which all this time have been using the topic of human rights for fulfilling their own geopolitical interests and for attacks on our country,” Tolstoy said of the resignation letter, according to state-funded RT.
Because of “unprecedented sanctions and political pressure” against Russia, Moscow is not going to pay the annual fee to the Council of Europe, he added. In February, the Council of Europe suspended Russia’s rights of representation following the invasion of Ukraine.
In 2014, Russia was suspended by the Council of Europe after it annexed Crimea, though it was readmitted to the body in 2019. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry criticized the 2019 decision, saying at the time that Russia’s reinstatement would encourage Moscow.
It comes as the Kremlin said Tuesday that Putin has discussed the situation in Ukraine with European Council President Charles Michel.
The Kremlin said in a statement that Putin informed Michel about the Russian view of the peace negotiations with Ukraine in Tuesday’s call, adding that Ukrainian officials haven’t yet “demonstrated a serious intention to search for mutually acceptable solutions.”
Michel wrote on Twitter that he told Putin about the “urgent need to stop Russia’s fratricidal war against Ukraine” and emphasized that “indiscriminate shelling by Russian forces of Ukraine civilians must stop.”
“Russia must urgently enable humanitarian access and safe passage,” he also said.
Over the past weekend, Russian and Ukrainian officials said that there appeared to have been progress made during talks, with a Russian official remarking that a peace agreement could come within days. Previous rounds of negotiations yielded few results.
