Council of Europe (CoE) Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland said on Tuesday that member states should resolve the money crisis that hit the organization after it denied Russia voting right
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2019) Council of Europe (CoE) Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland said on Tuesday that member states should resolve the money crisis that hit the organization after it denied Russia voting right.The CoE Parliamentary Assembly restricted Russia's powers in April 2014, in response to a referendum in Crimea which reunited it with Russia. Russia, one of key contributors, refused to pay CoE membership fees in June 2017.
Thorbjorn acknowledged in the statement on the CoE website that depriving Russia of its right to vote "had not led to the return of Crimea to Ukraine or improved the human rights situation in Russia. Instead, it had created a crisis within the Organisation."
If Russia does not resume payments to the Council's budget by the end of this June it may be expelled under the organization's charter.
"The Secretary General concluded by saying that in the Council of Europe's 70th anniversary year, a compromise solution to the Russia crisis would be a great gift for Europe," the statement read.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow wanted to remain a member of the Council of Europe but would only contribute to its budget once its rights are reinstated. He called the deadline in June a moment of truth.
