Russia may withdraw from the Council of Europe in 2019. This was stated by Senator Alexei Pushkov. At the same time, he stressed that this would be the decision of Moscow, and not the secretariat of the Council of Europe.. “As PACE at the current session did not abandon the principle of restricting the rights of national delegations, we should be ready to leave the Council of Europe in 2019,” Pushkov wrote on Twitter. - This crisis has been brewing for a long time, it is systemic.. It is not for the Council to decide whether to be in the CE or not. This is our choice.. "Earlier, the Secretary General of the CoE Thorbjorn Jagland told European journalists that Russia could be excluded from the membership of the statutory bodies of the CoE if it does not pay membership dues for more than two years. Head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky saw in the behavior of Jagland recognition of impotence. "This is a typical game for the Council of Europe ahead of the curve in a very non-gentlemen situation. Jagland makes such statements as the Secretary General, cornered, "- quotes RIA FAN Slutsky. The parliamentarian noted that all actions of CE representatives are pushing the Russian Federation to seriously think about suspending its membership in this organization.. Moscow has not paid all contributions to the CE budget since 2017. This happened after in 2014. Russian delegation to PACE was deprived of the right to vote because of the situation with the Crimea.

Later, the ban on the full activity of the Russian Federation in the statutory bodies of the Council of Europe was extended. In 2016. cumulative contribution of the Russian Federation to the budget of the organizations of the Council of Europe amounted to 30.1 million euros. At the same time, the total budget of the Council of Europe was 442 million euros, that is, the contribution of the Russian Federation was one of the largest among the members of the association.. In 2017. RF transferred to European institutions 11 million less than it should be.