Council of Europe foreign ministers yesterday ignored a call by the organisation's parliamentary assembly to expel Russia over the continuing war in Chechnya, marking a diplomatic coup for the Russian Foreign Minister, Mr Igor Ivanov.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, attended the meeting in Strasbourg for the last time in his role as president of the committee of ministers of the Council of Europe.
Ireland has supported a policy of "constructive engagement" with the Russians, and has been heavily involved in getting the Russians to agree to Council of Europe observers in Chechnya. Dublin has argued that in agreeing to accept them the Russians have demonstrated their willingness to move.
The high-level gathering, which made no mention of any sanctions against Moscow, was the first since the human rights body's parliamentary assembly called on ministers last month to suspend Russia unless it immediately halted rights abuses in the rebel Caucasus territory.
"Russia remains a fully-fledged member of the Council of Europe," Mr Ivanov said shortly after yesterday's meeting.
In comments broadcast on Russian state-run ORT television, he said: "As for the question of the suspension of Russia's membership in the Council of Europe, this question was raised only in the context of the resolutions of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe.
"All the ministers noted that such a step would have negative consequences."
The assembly suspended Moscow's voting rights in its April 6th vote and called on the council's executive body, its foreign ministers, to suspend Russia because of alleged human rights violations in Chechnya.
The Dutch Foreign Minister, Mr Jozias van Aartsen, said suspending Russia would have been a last resort, adding: "We have not reached that stage."
There had been some progress, even if it was not enough, Mr Van Aartsen said. "I sincerely hope that we will never reach that point because it would imply defeat for all of us."
It was already extremely serious that the procedure had got so far, he said, describing it as "a very clear signal".
Mr Van Aartsen called on the Russian Federation "to seriously engage in negotiations in order to find a political solution and to carry out investigations into human rights violations".
For Mr Ivanov, the decision crowned a diplomatic offensive that included an informal meeting with ministers in Strasbourg on Wednesday to discuss progress on the humanitarian situation in Chechnya.
Following Wednesday's meeting, the council's secretary general, Mr Walter Schwimmer, said three council representatives would be joining a Russian human rights office in Chechnya close to the border with Ingushetia before the end of May.
As the council meeting got underway, European Union Foreign Ministers called on Russia to adopt "concrete measures" to achieve "real and rapid progress in the field of human rights and in the search for a peaceful solution".
They had adopted the resolution before the main council meeting of 41 foreign ministers, after what diplomatic sources described as "fierce debate".