Russia could be expelled from Council of EuropeOctober 11, 2018 - 13:47 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland has said that the organization will have to expel Russia from the Council if the country does not make monetary contributions, TASS reports. In response, Chairman of the Russian State Duma's International Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky said that Russia should think about freezing its membership in the Council of Europe, without waiting for expulsion. "The destructiveness of the organizations and its institutions, particularly PACE [Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe], makes one think that we should probably consider temporarily suspending or freezing Russia's membership in the Council of Europe, without waiting for anti-Russian bureaucrats to initiate an expulsion procedure," Slutsky told journalists. In accordance with the Statute of the Council of Europe, the Committee of Ministers may temporarily suspend membership of a country that has not been making monetary contirbutions for two years. Russia stopped making contributions in 2017 against the backdrop of a crisis in relations with PACE. The two-year timeframe for failure to make monetary contirbutions will end for Russia in June 2019. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. Azerbaijan razes historic Armenian church to ground Azerbaijan has demolished the historic Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist (known as Kanach Zham). Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills |