Russia lost its membership in the Danube Commission on 1 March, the CFTS portal reports.
The member states of the Danube Commission made the relevant decision during the 100th anniversary session of the commission in December last year.
"The session took note of the systematic attacks by the Russian Federation on the Lower Danube region which continuously violates the fundamental principles of the Belgrade Convention. In this regard, the Danube states adopted a decision urging the Russian Federation to draw the consequences of its attacks by withdrawing from the Belgrade Convention by 29 February 2024, or, failing that, as of 1 March 2024, the Danube States will no longer consider themselves bound by the obligations under the Belgrade Convention vis-à-vis the Russian Federation," the commission said in a statement.
The Danube Commission is one of the oldest international organizations in the world. The main objectives of its activities are to ensure and develop free navigation on the Danube for the commercial vessels flying the flag of its member states.
As previously reported, at a session chaired by Ukraine on 14 December 2023, the Danube Commission decided to terminate Russia's membership in the organization because of its missile and drone strikes on the Lower Danube.
At an extraordinary session in March 2022, the Danube Commission adopted a decision stating that “the full powers of all representatives of the Russian Federation have been declined” until the restoration of peace, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.
In June 2022, the Danube Commission dissolved the Preparatory Committee for the Diplomatic Conference on the Revision of the 1948 Convention Regarding the Regime of Navigation on the Danube, which also included Russia, and established the Committee for the Preparation of the Diplomatic Conference Regarding the Regime of Navigation on the Danube, which would be composed only of Danube states and without Russian representatives.
