Theresa May: Russia’s membership in Council of Europe must be maintained

British Prime Minister Theresa May has supported the return of the voting rights to the Russian delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly in the Council of Europe (PACE), saying that keeping Russia in the Council of Europe would make it possible to hold Russia accountable for human rights violations.

According to Ukraine’s European Pravda news portal, May told to the House of Commons, as per the video of her speech posted by the Ukrainian Embassy in the UK, that the membership of the Russian Federation in the Council of Europe should be maintained. “The reason of the issue is that [Russia’s] membership in that body is one of the few ways available to the international community to hold Russia to account for its human rights violations,” May said.

However, she said: “We do not and will never recognize Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea.”

The Embassy of Ukraine responded to the statement of the British Prime Minister, noting that it is the Russian Federation that should respect European values and international law before returning to the PACE, and not vice versa.

“Russia’s return to PACE unfortunately will not help ordinary Russian citizens as Putin has no respect of the rule of law. Russia must respect European values and international law before being allowed back to PACE, not vice versa,” it said.

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