The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Russia is withdrawing from the Council Baltic Sea countriesHowever, this will not affect its presence in the region.
According to Russia Today, a statement published on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry said: “In response to the hostilities, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergei Lavrov, sent a letter to the ministers of the member countries of the Baltic Sea Council, the High Commissioner of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, as well as to The Secretariat of the Council in Stockholm with a notice of withdrawal from the organization, at the same time the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation decided to withdraw from the Baltic Parliamentary Conference“.
The statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry indicated that the termination of membership in the Council of the Baltic Sea States will not affect Russia’s presence in the region, adding that “attempts to expel our country from the Baltic Sea are doomed to failure. We will continue to work with responsible partners and organize activities on the main issues of development The Baltic region which is our common heritage, protecting the interests of our citizens“.
In a concluding statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that “Western countries, and let’s call things by their real names, have monopolized the Council for their opportunistic purposes, and they plan to make its work at the expense of Russian interests.”