MOSCOW, March 14 The Russian delegation suspends its work in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and will not take part in the meetings, Senator Alexander Bashkin told RIA Novosti. «The decision was made not to take part in the work of PACE committees and bodies, in plenary meetings,» he said. He recalled that now Moscow is considering the issue of terminating participation in the Council of Europe. As another member of the delegation, Senator Vladimir Krugly, told the agency, PACE has already notified the Russian side of the suspension of its membership in the assembly. The decision was made following the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CMCE). The notification was sent to the Federation Council and the State Duma. In turn, the head of the Russian delegation to PACE, Petr Tolstoy, noted that Moscow does not participate in the work of the assembly and other bodies of the Council of Europe. In the near future, Russia may denounce the agreement and withdraw from the organization, he suggested. Strasbourg had previously suspended Moscow's powers in the CMCE and PACE due to Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. Last week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that they were no longer going to participate in the work of the Council. and KMSEVladimir Putin on February 21, in response to the requests of the Donbass republics and after the appeal of the State Duma deputies, signed decrees recognizing the sovereignty of the LPR and DPR. Early on the morning of February 24, Russia launched a military special operation to demilitarize Ukraine. Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to harassment and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» According to the Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops.
