PACE passes resolution designating Russia as dictatorship and Putin as dictator

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution stating that Russia has turned into a dictatorship and that Russian President Vladimir Putin has become a dictator.

"Just now! PACE has adopted a resolution recognizing Russian President Vladimir Putin as a dictator, and Russia as a de facto dictatorship!" a member of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE, Oleksii Honcharenko, said, Rubryka reports.

43 MEPs voted for the resolution that says changes made to Russia's constitution made it possible for Putin to remain in power until 2036. The PACE recognized that Putin's overwhelming power and the complete absence of a system of checks and balances turned the Russian Federation into a de facto dictatorship.

The organization also called to designate Putin as illegitimate after his current term ends and terminate all contacts with him, except for humanitarian purposes and in the pursuit of peace.

In the document, the assembly urged the member states of the International Criminal Court Statute to arrest Putin when he comes under their jurisdiction based on an arrest warrant issued by the ICC for his involvement in the abduction of Ukrainian children.

The PACE also confirmed their support for a special tribunal that would overcome the immunity of state representatives.

MP Honcharenko submitted an amendment to recognize the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, as a dictator.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also welcomed the adoption of the resolution.

"I applaud today's strong PACE resolution recognizing Russia as a dictatorship. Over 20 years of unconstitutional one-man rule leads to crimes inside and outside the country," he said on X, former Twitter.