The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website on the 27th that Russia decided to withdraw from the United Nations World Tourism Organization. The statement said that the UN World Tourism Organization has actually been monopolized by EU countries for its own interests. With the help of large-scale anti Russian propaganda activities and blackmail and pressure on its Member States, the organization is promoting a political decision to prevent Russia from participating in the work of the organization. Russia believes that this is an illegal and politically motivated act and a blatant punishment against a current member state of the organization that pursues an independent domestic and foreign policy. The statement said that Russia believes that it is no longer appropriate to continue working in the United Nations World Tourism Organization. The leadership of the organization condoned the politicization of its activities and publicly supported the differential treatment of Russia. In view of this, Russia decided to withdraw from the United Nations World Tourism Organization. The United Nations World Tourism Organization held a special conference in Madrid, Spain on the 27th. One of the main topics of the conference is to discuss whether to suspend Russia's membership. After the meeting, Russia offered to withdraw from the organization. According to relevant regulations, it will take another year to complete the whole withdrawal procedure from the date when the organization receives the formal notice from the member states. (Xinhua News Agency)