In late June, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov informed Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland of Moscow's decision to suspend the country's 2017 contribution to the Council of Europe.
"The signed protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism (CETS 196) criminalizes a range of actions, including deliberate participation in a terror group, training for terrorism, traveling abroad for terror purposes and funding or organizing such trips," the press service said, adding that the protocol was signed in Strasbourg on Friday.
The press service also noted that the protocol establishes a network of offices for immediate information exchanges.
"The protocol is aimed at harmonizing the European legislation and increasing the effectiveness of the countries’ cooperation in combating terror," the press service stressed, adding that the protocol entered into force on July 1.
The press service recalled that the protocol was opened for signature in October 2015 amid the increase in the number of people who headed for conflict zones, in particular to Syria and Iraq, to fight on the side of the Islamic State (Daesh, banned in Russia) terror organization and then returned to their homelands.
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.
