Envoy: Russia committed to abiding by European Court’s decisions

Russia is complying with decisions by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) despite its current dubious situation in the Council of Europe, Russian Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe Ivan Soltanovsky said.

"That’s a highly essential institution, and Russia is determined to abide by the ECHR’s decisions," the diplomat told the Izvestia newspaper.

He noted that the situation in the Council of Europe had changed for the better psychologically. "The organization needs to return to the partially forgotten provisions of its Charter, that is, achieving unity of all European countries and creating a common European legal and humanitarian space," he stressed.

"Once the basic statutory provisions are restored, the remaining issues that have been highly politicized recently can be resolved, if there is a political will to do so," Soltanovsky added.