The decision to withdraw from the Council of Europe has been made, and a relevant letter from Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with it has been handed over to the organization's secretary general, Tolstoy said.
"The entire responsibility for breaking off dialogue with the Council of Europe lies with the NATO countries, which all this time have been using the topic of human rights to pursue their own geopolitical interests and attacks on our country. Due to the unprecedented political and sanctions pressure on our country, Russia does not plan to pay an annual contribution to this organization," Tolstoy said on Telegram.
The decision to withdraw was made in the midst of another anti-Russian discussion in PACE, the result of which could be "another false Russophobic resolution based on conjectures that have nothing to do with reality," he said.
"I emphasize that Russia is withdrawing from the Council of Europe of its own free will, this is a balanced and deliberate decision," the politician added.