Speaker of the State Duma Sergei Naryshkin said that the Council of Europe would largely become a meaningless organization if Russia leaves.
He noted that he does not preclude the question of the expediency of Russia in the Council of Europe next year. Naryshkin also agreed with the head of the Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation to PACE that, without representatives of the Russian Federation, the Assembly largely loses its meaning, and added that, "of course, this also applies to the Council of Europe as a whole."
According to him, Russia's withdrawal from the international organization will mean the simultaneous output of all of its structures. The State Duma speaker drew attention to the fact that the Russian Federation will do what is required of it, so it does not have to leave the Council of Europe.
