MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/. The way that the Council of Europe views marriage leaves room for ambiguous interpretations, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel on Friday.
She pointed out that according to the European Convention on Human Rights, "men and women of marriageable age have the right to marry and establish a family, according to the national laws governing the exercise of this right."
Zakharova noted that the Council of Europe issued explanations in late December 2020, saying that the right to marry applied to the marriage between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman based on the principle of monogamy that the member states followed.
"Why does the Council of Europe view marriage as a union between a man and a woman when it comes to polygamy and monogamy but goes with the flow in other cases?" Zakharova wrote.
"Here is an example. In 2016, a Syrian citizen decided to apply for asylum in Sweden and needed to bring his children and two wives to the country. Sweden granted entry to him and his kids under its family reunification program but denied entry to his wives based on the above-mentioned article (case MIG 2016:26 dated December 19, 2016). A fabulous explanation was provided: as it should be done in democratic societies in order to preserve the morality, rights and freedoms of others. This is Sweden, known for its unconventional view of relationships," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.