Photo: mid.ru
The Council of Europe is at a crossroads on the eve of its 70th anniversary, Sergey Lavrov is convinced. The head of Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said this during a speech at a meeting of the Committee of Ministers, the MFA reports on its website.
In his opinion, the organization should strengthen its role as a mechanism for the formation of unity. Otherwise, the Council of Europe is going to degrade under the pressure of those forces which are trying to turn it into a tool of serving the interests of narrow groups. They seek to use the mythical “rule-based order” instead of the norms of international law in order to achieve their own goals. As a result, an organization built on a culture of consensus loses its authority.
This may explain the sanctions against the Russian parliamentarians in PACE, which were introduced in violation of the Council’s statute. Lavrov stressed that if Russia did not take part in the election of the organization’s secretary general, this would lead to regretful consequences.
He added that Russia supported everyone who wanted to stop a confrontation that made no sense, and was in favor of the unity of the Council of Europe. To achieve this, one need to return to the basics on which the CE were founded. And the main one is the equality of all the participating countries.
Europe cannot but agree that without Russia it is impossible to ensure genuine European security in every dimension. Lavrov expressed the hope that the Europeans would still find the strength to show independence in key issues for the future of the continent.
Moscow is not seeking to leave the Council of Europe, the rumors about it are not true. It does not refuse to fulfill any of its obligations, including financial. Moscow appreciates the positive contribution that the CE has made and continues to make to the development of Russian national law, the reform of the judicial system, the system of the bodies of execution of punishment, and the solution of many other humanitarian issues.
Russkiy Mir reported that the session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe opened on Friday, May 17, in the capital of Finland. The Russian MFA is confident that this event will be key in deciding the future fate of the Council of Europe. In addition to the challenges that have arisen today in front of European countries, foreign ministers will also discuss the crisis that exists in relations between Moscow and the Council of Europe.
Russkiy Mir
