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Russia should remain in the Council of Europe, Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini believes. He said this during his speech after the meeting with Sergey Lavrov. It took place on Tuesday, February 12, RIA Novosti reports.
Finnish Foreign Minister recalled that Helsinki is leading the Committee of Ministers of Council of Europe since last year. At the same time, Finland cannot address the issue of Russia's participation in the work of the organization single-handedly.
Soini is convinced that all parties must be prepared to compromise. It is necessary to formulate their positions clearly. Russia is a European country, he added. For this reason, it is extremely important to maintain its membership in PACE, so that Moscow continued working in this structure.
The head of Russian diplomacy Sergey Lavrov, in turn, noted that during the negotiations, ministers discussed the large-scale crisis that had developed in the Council of Europe. He also expressed his appreciation to Finnish authorities for their efforts to overcome this situation.
Sergei Lavrov expressed confidence that the root cause of the crisis is the aggressiveness of Russophobe-minded members of the Council of Europe. As a result, Russian delegation lost its authority, which is a gross violation of the Statute of the Council of Europe, minister stated.
He confirmed that Moscow is ready for full cooperation for the sake of restoring justice and legality.
Russkiy Mir
