MOSCOW, July 22. /TASS/. Russia’s Government Legislative Commission supported the bill initiated by the Foreign Ministry and the Agriculture Ministry on Moscow’s withdrawal from the convention on the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) signed in 1964, a source close to the commission told TASS.
Head of the Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries Ilya Shestakov said last May that Moscow could withdraw from the Council unless its full membership in the organization was restored. The Council’s activities cover the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. According to an explanatory note, 20 countries are members of the Council, including Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US.
"The Government Legislative Commission supported the respective bill," the source said.
The Council is an international scientific body, which annually presents recommendations on the exploitation of reserves of marine biological resources "for ensuring their sustainable use and preservation, as well as protection of vulnerable ecosystems," the explanatory note said. The provisions of the convention do not suggest the possibility to ban any contracting party from participating in the work of the Council, as well as submit issues outside the purview of the organization to a vote, the cabinet stressed. On March 30, 2022, the Council decided to suspend the participation of the Russian Federation in the organization, "in contravention of the provisions of the convention," according to the note. "Despite repeated requests by the Russian side, the illegal decision has not been cancelled yet," the authors of the bill said.