The president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Tini Cox, said that by starting a war against Ukraine, Russia itself had decided that it no longer belonged in Europe.

"In the past, the Assembly decided that we should do everything possible to bring all European states, including Russia, together in the Council of Europe to promote the rule of law, human rights and democracy," he said.

Cox added that Russia had opportunities to "become part of a civilized society."

"By this clear and gross violation of its obligations under the UN charter, the statute of the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights, Russia itself has decided that its place is no longer in the largest and oldest European treaty-based organization, the Council of Europe," Cox said.

He said the Committee of Ministers will decide this afternoon, Feb. 25, how best to respond to Russian military aggression against Ukraine.

"On the table in the joint committee and the ministerial committee is clearly Article 8 - the ability for the organization to suspend for a member country any participation in any activities of the entire organization," Cox explained.

That decision is up to the ministerial committee, he said.

"The only one who is wrong at this point is the Russian Federation, which is invading by military force and aggressively into the territory of a sovereign state, a member state of the Council of Europe. This will lead to severe consequences for the Russian Federation," Cox stressed.