Russia's withdrawal from the Council of Europe is out of the question, Russia's Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said.
"As for Russia’s withdrawal from the Council of Europe, it is not on the agenda. We cannot imagine our future, our existence and development without Europe, as well as Europe cannot imagine itself without Russia, I believe," the Russian senate speaker said in an interview with RBC.
When speaking about interaction with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Matviyenko pointed out that the current crisis situation needed to be resolved.
"Not only we understand it but the Council of Europe’s authorities do too. The largest country in Europe has been deprived of the right to vote under the pressure of the Russia-hating minority, which is the loudest in the PACE. This cannot continue, a solution to the situation should be found," Matviyenko stressed.
According to the Russian senate speaker, work is underway to create conditions to ensure that all the 47 member states of the Council of Europe have equal rights and obligations. "We still insist that changes are introduced in the PACE regulations to prevent the very possibility of discrimination against any national delegation… We will not apply for the return of our PACE membership until conditions are created for that," she stressed.
