Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di
Maio said Friday that "shared values" had dictated the decision
to expel Russia from the Council of Europe as he wrapped up
Italy's six-month duty presidency of the human-rights body.
"The Italian presidency has been marked by the dramatic Russian
attack on Ukraine," Di Maio told the concluding event of the
presidency at the Palace of Venaria, near Turin, with the
handover to Ireland. "An attack on our principles and values,
heavy with repercussions.
"So it was a complex exercise that called for the management of
first the suspension and then the expulsion of the Russian
Federation from the Council of Europe.
"We were guided in this unprecedented crisis by the awareness of
the challenge and by your support for the shared interest to
move united in a decision".
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