Europe shot itself in the foot.

On 26 June, by 116 votes to 62 (with 15 abstentions) PACE ratified the credentials of the Russian delegation. By this full restoration of Russia’s rights in the Council of Europe, it basically states that:
downing an airplane with 300 civilians can happen;
using a nerve agent in any European country might be a mistake;
invasion of foreign lands, killing thousands of civilians with direct military intervention and state-sponsored militias does not matter, if it lasts for too long;
meddling into someone’s elections is not a big deal after all.

Now, no-one cares if you’re a homophobe, an extreme-right accused of sexual harassment, or an organizer of fake election observation with corrupted European politicians. You can be three in one like Leonid Slutsky.
All goes, esp., if you’re in the delegation. You might even become a vice-speaker of PACE! (check who’s in the Russian delegation, and be surprised)

Just keep occasionally mentioning human rights, democracy and rule of law, even though you disdain this bullshit, and adhere to your true interest. Keep referring to protection of peaceful population, whose peace you successfully disrupt, and you’ll be fine.

In the CoE, you adhere to some abstract principles that have no ground, nor context. So you can easily twist them for your tyrant’s good and make foolish Europeans believe it is for protection of human rights.

This is how you discredit Europe’s top human rights organization.

#PACE #CoE

Meme from Alex Kokcharov’s Twitter