PARIS, March 11 (TASS) - Interpol will not exclude Russia from the organization, but will change the procedure of considering its requests, the international organization said in a statement, obtained by TASS.

"INTERPOL’s Constitution calls on the Organization to maintain police cooperation and ensure communication channels remain open," the organization said. "INTERPOL’s mandate does not include issuing sanctions or taking punitive measures, nor is there any provision in the Constitution for the suspension or exclusion of a member country."

However, "diffusions can no longer be sent directly by NCB Moscow to member countries." Moscow must now send all diffusions to the General Secretariat to be checked for compliance with INTERPOL’s Rules, the document says.

"Additional measures may be taken on an urgent basis by the Secretary General if the need arises," Interpol said.

Explaining its position, Interpol said that "preventing any member country from sharing vital policing information would provide criminals with clear opportunities to both commit crimes and evade capture, creating a gap in global security and safety."

"Law enforcement leaders from around the world have also requested continued cooperation with Russia via INTERPOL, highlighting serious security and safety concerns if information sharing is stopped," the statement says.

According to the organization, nearly 60,000 checks have been made by member countries against data supplied by Russia so far in 2022.

Several Western countries, including the United Kingdom and Canada earlier called to exclude Russia from Interpol.

On February 24, Putin announced a special military operation in response to a request for help by the heads of the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories. Afterward, the US, EU, UK and some other countries said they were imposing sanctions on Russian individuals and legal entities.