The Council of Europe is considering lifting sanctions it imposed over Russia’s aggression in Ukraine for fear Moscow could otherwise pull out — dealing a blow to human rights protection, the Financial Times reports.
Thorbjorn Jagland, the council’s secretary-general, is touring European capitals warning of a serious risk that Moscow could withdraw or crash out of the 47-member body unless its demands are met, FT wrote.
Moscow is demanding its voting rights be restored in the parliamentary assembly of the council, which oversees the 1949 human rights convention and European Court of Human Rights. Russia was stripped of them over its 2014 annexation of Crimea.
Russia’s withdrawal would deprive 140 million Russians of access to the Strasbourg-based court, where Russia accounts for a third of the caseload.
“It would really be very, very bad if Russia was to leave . . . because the convention and court has been so important for Russian citizens,” Mr Jagland told the FT in an interview. “It will be a negative development for Europe, because we will have a Europe without Russia. It would be a big step back for Europe.”
However, Ukraine and its supporters have warned that re-admitting Russia to the council assembly without concessions on Crimea or the conflict in eastern Ukraine would be caving in to blackmail by Moscow. They say it could set off a chain reaction of weakening sanctions by other bodies, notably the EU.
“It would be the first hole in the wall,” said one Ukrainian official.
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Valentina Matviyenko, head of Russia’s upper chamber and an ally of president Vladimir Putin, warned recently that Moscow might cease complying with European rights court decisions if it could not vote on officials and judges. Russia has already passed a law allowing its constitutional court to exempt it from fulfilling Strasbourg judgments.
Mr Jagland warned that refusing to pay into the budget or implement court judgments could lead to Russia’s departure on its own or other states’ initiative.
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Opponents of an unconditional deal with Russia say that it would set a precedent for others accused of backsliding on democracy, such as Hungary and Poland, and for Turkey and Azerbaijan, which have serious disputes with the council.
Those against an unconditional deal also fears that re-embracing Russia before presidential elections in March would be a gift to Mr Putin. Ukraine says Russia’s hints at withdrawal from the human rights body are an empty threat it would never fulfill in reality.
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“If it happens, Ukraine will review our relations with the Council of Europe,” he added.