Russia must form a delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in order to adhere to the decision of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers taken on the outcomes of the meeting in Helsinki, Chairman of the Party of the European Left in PACE Tiny Cox told TASS on Saturday.

Axar.az reports citing TASS.

"Our Russian colleagues have to be aware of two things: they have to come back, they have to present a delegation. That’s clear, that decision’s taken, so it’s not "let’s wait and see", it’s up to us. Because then they violate the decision of Helsinki," Kox said.

"They have to realize that now there will be a joint mechanism. If a member state violates the statute of the convention, in the end [the state] could be confronted with Article 7, 8, and 9 of the Convention," he explained.

According to the recent decision approved during the meeting in Helsinki, the Committee of Ministers, PACE and Secretary General of the Council of Europe will be able to initiate proceedings against the states violating the Statute of the Council of Europe. Article 8 of the statute says that any member of the Council of Europe "may be suspended from its rights of representation and requested by the Committee of Ministers to withdraw" from the organization if it fails to accept the principles of the rule of law or fulfil its financial obligations.

The politician added that every international organization requires a sanctions mechanism. "You need to have the means to say: if you do not deliver, what are you doing here?" he stressed.