Russian, Belgian Foreign Ministers Discuss Situation Around Council Of Europe - Statement

Rukhshan Mir (@rukhshanmir) Published February 15, 2019 | 07:24 PM

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Belgian counterpart Didier Reynders discussed on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday the situation around the Russian membership in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th February, 2019) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Belgian counterpart Didier Reynders discussed on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday the situation around the Russian membership in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"During the conversation, the foreign ministers of Russia and Belgium discussed the state and prospects of the development of bilateral relations, most urgent issues of the international agenda, including the situation in Syria. [The parties] exchanged opinions about the ways to overcome the crisis in the Council of Europe," the statement said.

Relations between Russia and the Council of Europe, particularly the Parliamentary Assembly, worsened in April 2014 after Moscow was stripped of its voting rights in the assembly over the military conflict in Ukraine and Crimea's reunification with Russia.

Since 2016, the Russian delegation has not been renewing its credentials ahead of the assembly's sessions in protest of the discrimination it faces within the organization.

In June 2017, Moscow froze part of its Council of Europe contribution meant for Russia's PACE membership until its delegation's rights in the organization were completely restored. According to Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland, if Russia does not pay its contributions for two years, the Committee of Ministers may consider expelling the country from the organization.

This two-year period for Russia expires at the end of June 2019. Commenting on this situation, Lavrov said that Russia would not "bring such joy" to those, who want to expel it from the Council of Europe, but would leave the organization on its own if the crisis was not resolved.