Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have voted a resolution recognizing Russian President Vladimir Putin as illegitimate and the regime in Russia as a dictatorship. The document was supported unanimously.

This was reported by the head of the permanent delegation of Ukraine to PACE, Maria Mezentseva.

The resolution refers to the illegitimacy and illegality of the amendments to the Russian constitution made in July 2020, which allowed Putin to stay in the presidential post until 2036. Also, after his term expires in 2024, all contacts with the Russian leader should be limited, except for humanitarian issues.

Mezentseva noted that the assembly reaffirmed its strong support for the establishment of a special international criminal tribunal for the crime of aggression to bring the Russian leadership, including Putin, to justice for the primary (highest) crime that led to all other massive war crimes and crimes against humanity, namely the unleashing of the war of aggression against Ukraine.

The deputies called on the member states of the ICC Statute to arrest Putin when he falls under their jurisdiction based on an arrest warrant.

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