March 15 (Reuters) - Russia on Tuesday formally quit the Council of Europe, a human rights watchdog based in Strasbourg, pre-empting possible expulsion over its attack on its neighbour Ukraine.
Pyotr Tolstoy, head of the Russian delegation at the Council's Parliamentary Assembly, handed a letter from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the Council's secretary general announcing Moscow's decision, the Tass news agency reported.
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