The main building of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. File photoPARIS, Feb. 27Russia remains obliged to fulfill its financial obligations to the Council of Europe after the suspension of its powers in the organization, PACE President Tiny Cox said. «Russia remains obliged to fulfill its financial obligations to Council of Europe,” the statement said.The West is ripe for «hellish» sanctions against Russia. It seems Cox noted that the organization must remain financially sustainable in the long term. «Actions now in the spirit of solidarity should ensure that our work will not suffer because of the position (on Ukraine — ed.),» the PACE chairman added. «I sincerely welcome today's initiative, voted in the Bundestag, aimed at ensuring that The Council of Europe has not suffered any medium or long-term financial damage as a result of the organization's decision to suspend Russia's rights due to its armed attack on Ukraine.I call on the parliaments of the 46 other member states of the Council of Europe to join this initiative and seek increased funding from their governments for cover any possible loss of Russia's contributions,» Cox said in a statement. Earlier, the Council of Europe said that Russia's rights in the organization were suspended, but this is a temporary measure, and the country remains a member of the organization. At the same time, complaints against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will continue to be considered after the suspension of the rights of the Russian Federation in the Council of Europe.Kuleba called for the complete financial isolation of RussiaRussia launched a military operation to demilitarize Ukraine early on Thursday, February 24. In a televised address to the Russians, President Vladimir Putin said that circumstances «require decisive and immediate action from us, the people's republics of Donbass have asked for help.» According to the Russian leader, all responsibility for the bloodshed will be on the conscience of the ruling regime in Ukraine. He urged the Ukrainian military not to carry out the criminal orders of the Ukrainian authorities, to lay down their arms and go home. Later, the Russian Defense Ministry stressed that the Russian Armed Forces do not inflict any strikes on the cities of Ukraine: military infrastructure is disabled by high-precision means. The civilian population, according to the department, is not in danger. The Ministry of Defense added that the Ukrainian border guards “do not offer any resistance”, in some cases the Ukrainian military surrenders and after that they have the opportunity to return to their families.
