PACE urges EU countries to ‘cease all contact’ with Russia after Putin’s current term ends

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has unanimously adopted a resolution calling on the EU member states to consider Vladimir Putin an illegitimate Russian president after 2024, the year his current term in office will end.

The resolution also urged EU states to “cease all contact with Russia”, except for humanitarian cooperation and working towards peace.

The assembly stressed that Putin has held power in Russia since 2000 and that the recent amendments to the Russian Constitution would allow him to extend his presidency to 2036.

“The overwhelming power of the President resulting from the extremely long term in office combined with the lack of any checks and balances such as a strong parliament, an independent judiciary, free media and a vibrant civil society has turned the Russian Federation into a de facto dictatorship,” the PACE resolution said.

The Russian aggression against Ukraine had shown that dictatorships “constitute a threat to the international peace and security and to the territorial integrity and political independence of their neighbours,” the assembly stated.

Additionally, PACE supported the creation of an international international criminal tribunal to hold the Russian leadership, including Vladimir Putin, accountable for their actions.