Putin is an illegitimate president, and Russian refineries are legitimate targets. PACE adopted a resolution

On April 17, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe supported a resolution dedicated to the death of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalnyi. In it, among other things, Vladimir Putin was called the illegitimate president of the Russian Federation.

The text of the resolution is published on the PACE website.

The document emphasized that under the rule of Putin, Russia has effectively become a dictatorship, and his regime adheres to the neo-imperialist ideology of "Russian peace", which the Kremlin has turned into a tool for inciting war.

The authors recalled that even in last yearʼs resolution No. 2519, PACE did not recognize the legitimacy of Putin. The Assembly appealed to the member states and observers of the Council of Europe, as well as to the EU, with a proposal to officially recognize the illegitimacy of Putin.

The resolution called for strengthening sanctions against the Russian Federation, in particular:

• lower the price limit for oil and gas;
• introduce secondary sanctions against states, people and legal entities that help Russia evade sanctions;
• impose sanctions on the Moscow Stock Exchange and Rosatom.

The document added that according to international humanitarian law, Russian oil refineries should be considered legitimate targets of military attacks.

The authors also called for recognition that the Russian Orthodox Church is actually used by the Kremlin regime as an instrument of Russian influence and propaganda and has nothing to do with freedom of religion.