PACE recognizes Putin as dictator and Russia as dictatorship

Ukraine’s MP Oleksiy Honcharenko and Deputy Chairman of the Servant of the People faction Yevheniya Kravchuk reported this.

"Putin has been recognized as a dictator and Russia as a dictatorship! We called on all countries to execute the arrest warrant for Putin issued by the ICC and arrest him," Honcharenko wrote.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the European Council unanimously supported the resolution with 43 votes.

The PACE also made a number of important statements, in particular about the process of amending the Russian constitution, which allowed Putin to remain in power until 2036. The Assembly recognized that the overwhelming power of the Russian president and the absence of a system of checks and balances have turned the country into a de facto dictatorship, explains Kravchuk.

Photo: Yevheniya Kravchuk

The PACE called for Vladimir Putin to be recognized as illegitimate after the end of his current term and for all contacts with him to cease, except for humanitarian ones, and in the pursuit of peace.

The Assembly called on the States Parties to the ICC Statute to arrest the Russian dictator when he comes under their jurisdiction on the basis of an arrest warrant. PACE reaffirmed its support for the creation of a Special Tribunal.

Maria Mezentseva, Head of the Ukrainian Parliament's Permanent Delegation to PACE, also emphasized: "The Assembly believes that an international criminal tribunal ad hoc (temporary international tribunal - ed.) should investigate all events on the territory of Ukraine since February 2014, starting with the illegal annexation of Crimea, the war in Donbas and the downing of flight MH17. There is a decision of the European Court of Human Rights on the date of the beginning of the aggression - March 2014."

Ukraine's MP Dmytro Natalukha explained why this resolution is so important for Ukraine.

"Most people recognize him as an international criminal, but there are still governments, politicians and entire parties that still consider it possible to sit down with him at the same negotiating table and end this war that he started by leaving him in power in Russia. Resolutions like this set more and more red lines and actually force such 'skeptics' to join the 'anti-Putin coalition', unless they want to fall out of the Council of Europe family with all the consequences," he wrote.

The PACE resolution recognizing Putin as a dictator: what is known

In January, it was reported that the Kremlin had begun preparations for the 2024 elections with Putin's participation.

In August, Medusa named the candidates whom the Kremlin wants to see as Putin's "competitors" in the upcoming 2024 elections. The main criterion is age - at least 50 years old. It is also desirable for the candidate to be barely recognizable and lack charisma.

On September 12, the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights expressed concern about amendments to the Russian Constitution that ensure the indefinite presidency of Vladimir Putin. They recalled that the amendments made in July 2020, including the abolition of presidential term limits, allowed Putin to remain in office until 2036, when he will turn 83.

The Committee unanimously approved the draft resolution based on a report prepared by Pieter Omtzigt (Netherlands, EPP/CD) and noted that the exemption from term limits for the incumbent president violates international law.

Russia's aggression against Ukraine and its consequences demonstrate that dictatorships "pose a threat to international peace and security, as well as to the territorial integrity and political independence of neighbors," so it is important to restore democracy, the committee noted.