The council wants to reconcile with Russia

"The council wants to reconcile with Russia,"

"the council of europe has agreed to let Russia once again take part in its work, after a several-year-long dispute that followed the Russian annexation of the crimean peninsula."

"the Council's committee of ministers at a meeting in Helsinki, agreed on a compromise, which means that Russia is again allowed to vote in the organisation's parliamentary assembly, Pace."

"By reason of the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 was the Russian representatives the right to vote in the council of europe. Russia responded with a boycott and has for the past two years has not paid their part of the council's annual budget."

"France and Germany have pushed for a compromise, while Ukraine has tried to block such."

"In an official opinion beats the committee of ministers stated that"

"In practice, it likely means that Russia be allowed to participate when the Council of europe's new secretary general will be elected in June, which has been one of the country's main requirements."

"of Ukraine considers that the council of europe lays down flat for Russia."

" We want Russia to stay in the council of europe, but we want Russia to follow its obligations and commitments in all decisions taken as a result of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, said Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian representative in the council of europe."

"Russia, which warned of"

"We have no intention to leave the council of europe, says the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, who adds that the council of europe"

"the council of europe is an intergovernmental cooperation body focusing on issues of democracy and human rights, the european Convention on human rights as a guiding principle. It was founded in 1949 and is based in the French Strasbourg."

"Sweden is one of the ten countries that were at the founding. Today, the council has a total of 47 member states, including all EU members and countries to the east such as Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Several overseas states have observer status."

"the council of europe has a parliamentary assembly (Pace) with 324 members, and equal number of deputies, who are elected from the respective national parliaments of the member states. Sweden has 6 regular members."

"another part of the organisation is the european Court of human rights (often in short referred to as the Ecthr), with judges from each member state, where it is tested whether a state has violated the european Convention."

"the Council of europe's decision-making committee of ministers is composed of member states' foreign ministers, which is assisted by groups of experts. The presidency is rotated between members on a semi-annual basis."

"Norway's former prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland Council of europe secretary-general, and he is now on his second term of office."

"Source: Council of europe website, NE, with several."