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Russia expelled from Council of Europe
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March 17, 2022
Original URL: https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Russia_expelled_from_Council_of_Europe



Yesterday, the Council of Europe voted to formally expel Russia after 26
years of membership, having been suspended since February 25, following
the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began the day before.

Russia had already announced its intention to withdraw from the Council
on Tuesday. The Council of Europe is an international organization
promoting human rights and democracy.

In a joint statement by the 46 remaining Council members, the
organization said: "We expressed on several occasions our firm
condemnation of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine."
The statement called the invasion of Ukraine "unjustified and unprovoked
aggression," adding that "through their actions in Ukraine the Russian
authorities deprive the Russian people of the benefit of the most
advanced human rights protection system in the world."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the Council "a tool for
anti-Russian policy." Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said
there is "no place for Russia in European bodies as it wages a barbaric
war of aggression against Ukraine and commits multiple war crimes."

== Sources ==
* https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-93fbcec1badeb3a33ed1c0b3a0fbab9e
* https://thehill.com/policy/international/russia/598417-council-of-europe-expels-russia-over-ukraine-invasion