Russia has received backing from the Council of Europe's assembly to have its voting rights restored with 96 in favor and 44 against. This move was followed by harsh debates, with the representatives of Georgia and Ukraine protesting against it.
"No matter how this voting ends, Putin will lose. Long live, Georgia! Abkhazia is Georgia! South Ossetia is Georgia! Donbas is Ukraine! Crimea is Ukraine!" Ukrainian deputy Oleksiy Goncharenko declared.
Moscow had its voting rights suspended five years ago over the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula.
