Question: Can you comment on the information that the Russian Federation will pay its outstanding fee to the budget of the Council of Europe?

Maria Zakharova: As you know, after the restoration of the full rights of the Russian Federation Federal Assembly delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in June of this year, Russia paid its full fee to the organisation for 2019.

The Russian Federation also complied with its obligation to pay the full membership fee for the previous two years. The Russian Government issued an instruction on August 27, 2019, whereby Russia’s outstanding fee for 2017 and 2018 would be transferred to Strasbourg.

We expect the reform process in the Council of Europe to continue and to be successfully completed to ensure the equality of rights and obligations of all the member states and to enhance the organisation’s role as a major instrument to ensure the unity of European nations.