MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia may reduce its contribution to the Council of Europe by one-third if the rights of the Russian delegation at the PACE are not fully restored, Russia's Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko said Tuesday.
"We are discussing this issue with [Russia's] Foreign Ministry and Finance Ministry, asking them not to hurry with the fresh membership payment to the Council of Europe," Matvienko said in an radio interview.
"If the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe [PACE] does not restore our delegation's rights during its session in January, we may opt to reduce our contribution by, at least, one-third," Matvienko stressed.
Russia became the 39th member state of the Council of Europe on February 28, 1996. Russia's contribution to the CE is € 32,805,837 (some $35.7 million at current exchange rate).
