"The minister informed the secretary general of the Council of Europe of the decision to suspend the payment of Russia's contribution to the Council of Europe budget for 2017," the ministry said in a read-out of Lavrov's phone talks with Jagland.
The suspension will remain in force until the Russian delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is fully restored in its powers, the ministry stressed.
"We urge responsible member-states of the Council to make all efforts possible to overcome the crisis in the Assembly as soon as possible in order to achieve a greater unity between its members for the purpose of safeguarding and realizing the ideals and principles which are their common heritage and facilitating their economic and social progress’ as stated in the chapter 1 of the Council of Europe’s statute," the statement read.
Russia is one of the main contributors to the Council’s budget along with France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and more recently, Turkey. Moscow's total contribution for the adjusted 2017 budget was supposed to be more than 33 million euros (over $37 million), according to the organization's figures, published previously.
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.
