MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/. The Council of Europe's attempts to "punish" Russia are doomed to failure, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a news briefing.

"Attempts to punish Russia, put it in the corner or do something else to us are doomed to failure, and can only be ridiculed. The opportunistic demarches of our opponents from Strasbourg will not change anything here," she said.

"The Council of Europe unconditionally supports the criminal Kiev regime and stands in solidarity with it. With regard to the Ukrainian conflict, this organization controlled by unfriendly countries demonstrates amazing ingenuity, odious double standards, seeking to remind everyone of its existence, because it is simply degrading. The Strasbourg nomenclature regularly attracts attention with loud, absolutely ridiculous, insane anti-Russian statements."

Referring to the Council of Europe’s latest call to "punish Russia," this time in connection with the recent Oreshnik attack on military installations in Ukraine, the diplomat noted that "given the decision taken by the Russian Federation in 2022 to terminate its membership in the Council of Europe, it makes no sense to comment on such statements seriously, from a legal point of view."

According to Zakharova, it is hardly surprising that in response, "calls to the contrary are increasingly being heard in the mass consciousness, for example, to punish the Council of Europe with an Oreshnik."