World

russia announces its withdrawal from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly

The head of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Vyacheslav Volodin, said that by 21 February this year, the Russian Federation will terminate its membership in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). This is reported by the with reference to The Insider.

Volodin called the OSCE PA “an absolutely non-independent politicised organisation that dances to the tune of Washington”.

“The worst thing in this situation is that we are still paying money, and we are one of the largest payers, so we need to withdraw, stop transferring funds,”

– volodin said.

It should be noted that the Parliamentary Assembly is an inter-parliamentary body that unites 57 member states of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It was established in 1991 to monitor the implementation of OSCE goals, develop and implement mechanisms for conflict prevention and resolution, and promote the strengthening and consolidation of democratic institutions in OSCE participating States.

In the summer of 2023, the Assembly established a parliamentary support group for Ukraine.

russia is expelled from international organisations

Since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has withdrawn or suspended its membership in many international organisations, including the Council of the Baltic Sea States and the International Labour Organisation.

Last year, the UN began to purge itself of Russia’s malign influence. For the first time in its history, the organisation did not elect Russia to the International Court of Justice.

Also, for the first time in history, Russia was expelled from the UNESCO Executive Board. In addition, Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe and the UN Human Rights Council.

At the end of December 2023, Russia was expelled from the Danube Commission due to the shelling of the Lower Danube and expelled from the Council of the International Maritime Organization.