The Danube Commission deprived Russia of the right to membership

The Danube Commission has decided to strip Russia of its membership because of its missile and drone strikes on the Lower Danube in Ukraine.

This was announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba.

The Commission made such a decision at the 100th anniversary meeting under the Ukrainian presidency. It is also based on the decision of March 17, 2022, according to which Russians are prohibited from participating in all meetings and excluded from the Commissionʼs secretariat.

Russia must withdraw from the organization by February 29, 2024, and if it does not do so, the members of the Commission will not recognize their obligations to the Russian Federation under the Belgrade Convention on the Danube Navigation Regime.

The Danube Commission is an international intergovernmental organization established by the Convention on the Regime of Navigation on the Danube, signed in Belgrade on August 18, 1948. Its main goals are: the development of free navigation on the Danube for merchant vessels, economic and cultural ties, etc.

The commission includes Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Germany, Moldova, the Russian Federation (soon its membership will be terminated), Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Ukraine and Croatia.

• At the beginning of December, Russia was excluded from the Council of the International Maritime Organization, and in November — from the Executive Council of UNESCO.