Russian Foreign Ministry slams Council of Europe as a “tool completely controlled by the European Union”

The 4th summit of the Council of Europe (CE) held in Reykjavik confirmed the transformation of this organization into an instrument fully controlled by the European Union. This is stated in the comments of the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, distributed today, May 19.

“If you call a spade a spade, Iceland hosted a memorial service for the Council of Europe as an independent pan-European multi-sectoral organization,” the diplomat noted, adding that the CE still retains the external attributes of a separate structure, moreover, the many thousands of Strasbourg bureaucracy will continue to fool the European governments, convincing them in the importance of financing their senseless, and sometimes simply harmful activity for the countries of the continent.

However, in reality, the meeting in Iceland cemented the transformation of the Council of Europe into a tool completely controlled by the European Union, in fact, into its “department for ideology”, she pointed out.

“As you can see, this tool, in addition to imposing neoliberal values ​​on European societies, is actively used by the West in a hybrid war with Russia. The summit documents are literally overflowing with reckless threats to “punish” our country, to bring its leadership to “responsibility”, Zakharova notes.

She recalled that at the summit they spoke about the idea of ​​creating a so-called “register of damage caused by the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.”

“It only remains to repeat: the decisions of this pseudo-legal structure will be legally null and void for us, and we will consider joining it as an act hostile to Russia,” the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

According to her, any sane observer understands that the calls of “Soviet European leaders to establish some kind of” special tribunal “will only lead to an escalation of confrontation” in Europe, the consequences of which can be much worse than even the strongest eruptions of Icelandic volcanoes.

Cynicism, double standards and hypocrisy

As emphasized in the commentary, the Council of Europe has once again signed off on its cynicism and double standards. This organization, modestly calling itself the “Conscience of Europe”, for many years did not notice and stubbornly continues to ignore the crimes of the Ukrainian regime, which destroys civilians, eradicates any dissent, glorifies Hitler’s accomplices and executioners of the Holocaust.

“The Declaration “On the Status of the Children of Ukraine” approved in Reykjavik looks especially hypocritical. Our country, rescuing children from the war zone, from Ukrainian shelling, is accused of “violating their fundamental freedoms.” At the same time, European leaders have never condemned the atrocities of Ukrainian punishers in the Donbass. These human rights defenders would do well to first visit the Avenue of Angels in Donetsk and see for themselves the “effectiveness” of the weapons supplied by their governments, helping the Ukrainian Nazis to carry out reprisals against the civilian population and our children,” Zakharova notes.

It is also indicative, she points out, that on the eve of the summit, these champions of the principle of territorial integrity shamelessly sacrificed the territorial integrity of Serbia, approving the launch of the procedure for the entry into the Council of Europe of the self-proclaimed Kosovo. Apparently, these Council of Europe member states have not heard of UN Security Council Resolution 1244. Probably, they are trying to “compensate” for Russia’s withdrawal from their organization.

“Until recently, the capital of Iceland was associated in the history of world politics with an attempt — albeit, as it later became clear, unsuccessful — to put an end to the Cold War and create the prerequisites for building a united Europe. From now on, Reykjavik is destined to become a symbol of a new round of international confrontation and new dividing lines,” the diplomat stated.

“To understand who we are dealing with, it is enough to recall that at the summit, the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, the governing body of the Council of Europe, passed to Latvia. Now, according to all Strasbourg canons, a “model” state, where an ethnocratic repressive regime has been established, the Russian population is subjected to many years of systemic discrimination, the concept of “non-citizens” has been invented, and Waffen-SS legionnaires have been proclaimed “national heroes” at the helm of the organization. There is no doubt in what direction the Council of Europe will be led by the Latvian Presidency”, Zakharova sums up.