MOSCOW, March 1. /TASS/. The issue of Russia’s withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is not on the table, but the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) may raise questions regarding legitimacy, State Duma Vice Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy said on Thursday, commenting on media reports on this issue.
"I can say that, from a legal perspective, if the Russian delegation does not take part in a vote on judge candidacies and is not represented in the ECtHR, then its decisions may raise questions concerning their legitimacy on Russia’s territory. Still, as far as I know, there is no such issue on the agenda. We are conducting dialogue with our European colleagues and consider it important to preserve common legal space in Europe," Tolstoy told reporters.
Mass media earlier reported, citing sources, that Russia’s authorities are looking into the possibility of denunciation of the European Convention on Human Rights and ending cooperation with the European Court of Human Rights if the anti-Russian position in the court’s decisions is not changed.