Council of Europe Not Yet Informed by Russia of Cuts to Budget Dues

Russia has not yet informed the Council of Europe (CoE) that it suspended one-third of its remaining contribution to the CoE budget, a spokesman for Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland told Sputnik on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Daniel Holtgen said the rights group saw reports in the Russian media earlier in the day, but noted that it cannot confirm that it was notified by the Russian authorities."

Speaker of the Russian lower chamber of parliament Vyacheslav Volodin said Tuesday that Russia has "blocked" the transfer of year-end CoE dues totaling 11 million euros ($12.39 million).

Russia is one of the main contributors to the CoE budget along with France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and more recently, Turkey. Its total contribution for the adjusted 2017 CoE budget totals 33 million euros, according to the organization's website.

Media reports suggested Russia was to cut down its dues to the council's budget because of the Russian delegation's absence at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

Russia left PACE in late 2015 following the assembly's resolutions in 2014 and 2015 depriving the Russian delegation of the right to vote at the assembly’s sessions, as well as of the right to participate in the work of its three key bodies: the Bureau, the Presidential Committee and the Standing Committee over Crimea's secession to Russia.

Russia did not renew its credentials ahead of the Assembly’s 2016 and 2017 winter sessions and made its return conditional on the full restoration of its delegates' voting rights.