MOSCOW. Sept 29 (Interfax) - A bill on withdrawing from the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities has been submitted to the State Duma, according to the State Duma database.
"A draft federal law envisages the withdrawal from the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities signed on behalf of the Russian Federation in Strasbourg on February 28, 1996, and ratified by the Russian Federation on June 18, 1998," says an explanatory note to the bill submitted by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
The note says that a resolution of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers dated September 27, 2022, "significantly limited powers of the Russian expert on the Advisory Committee tasked with monitoring the fulfillment by participatory states of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of their obligations." "In addition, Russia lost the opportunity to participate in the elaboration of decisions on matters of interest within the framework of this monitoring mechanism and to monitor cases of violations of the rights of national minorities on the international level, primarily the Russian-speaking population abroad," the note said.
"Considering that withdrawal from this international agreement will allow the Russian Federation to avoid being discriminated against in this monitoring mechanism of the Council of Europe and will not harm the observance of national monitories' rights, it is proposed to withdraw from the Framework Convention," the note said.