The Secretary General and Minister Lavrov discussed relations between the Russian Federation and the Council of Europe following the conflict in the South Caucasus and the evaluation by the Secretary General that both Georgia and Russia have not kept their commitments to the Council of Europe, reported CoE.
They also discussed several human rights issues in Europe. The Secretary General also raised the issue of Protocol 14 on the reform of the European Convention of Human Rights and the commitment of the Russian Federation to abolish the death penalty in law. There was also an extended discussion about the wish of Belarus to be involved in Council of Europe activities.