Council of Europe restores Russia’s voting rights
The Council of Europe adopted a declaration Friday that allows Russia to start voting again at the continent’s main human rights body following a spat related to over Crimea.
the Associated Press reported that foreign ministers from the council’s 47 member states voted overwhelmingly to support a declaration that says that all members should be “entitled to participate” in the council’s two main organs “on an equal basis.”
Russia will now have to accredit a delegation to the Council of Europe before it can start voting on motions.
The source reminds that the council, which is based in Strasbourg, France and is open to all European countries regardless of whether they are in the European Union or not, suspended Russia’s voting rights after the annexation of Crimea, which Ukraine and most of the world viewed as illegal. Russia, a member since 1996, then stopped paying its membership fees in protest.