Russia launches procedure to quit Council of Europe

MOSCOW, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Russia on Tuesday sent a notice of withdrawal from the Council of Europe to the organization's Secretary General Marija Pejcinovic Buric, Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"The states of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the European Union, abusing their majority in the Council of Europe, are consistently turning this organization into an instrument of anti-Russian policy, refusing equal dialogue and all the principles on which this pan-European structure was created," the ministry said in a statement.

Nevertheless, Russia remains open to pragmatic and equal interaction with the members of the Council of Europe on issues of mutual interest, it added.

Russia announced on Thursday that it would no longer participate in the Council of Europe. Russia joined the council in February 1996 as its 39th member.