Russia excluded from Danube Commission

The Danube Commission at a meeting on December 14 decided to exclude Russia because of its missile and drone strikes on the Lower Danube.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced this on the X social media platform, according to Ukrinform.

He noted that Russia's international isolation continues to grow.

"After failing to be elected to the International Court of Justice, the IMO, UNESCO, and the OPCW executive boards in November, Russia suffered another diplomatic defeat at the Danube Commission, one of the world's oldest international organizations. The Danube Commission decided yesterday, at its 100th anniversary session under the Ukrainian presidency, that Russian membership is incompatible given its missile and drone strikes on the Lower Danube," Kuleba wrote.

He added that Russia must leave by February 29, 2024, or the Commission's members will no longer recognize their commitments to Russia under the founding Belgrade Convention.

Kuleba said that this decision was an appropriate response to the violation of the principles of free and safe navigation on the Danube. It also builds on the Commission's earlier decision, made on March 17, 2022, to reject Russian credentials, bar Russians from all meetings, and dismiss Russians from the Secretariat.

"I am grateful to the Danube Commission's members for taking this bold and principled move yesterday," the minister said.

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