Around 30 European heads of state and government will travel today to Iceland for the first Council of Europe summit in nearly 20 years.

Among those expected to attend are German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The Council of Europewhich was established after the Second World War, aims to promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law and is separate from the European Union, which is why its 46 members include countries such as Britain, Turkey and Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, as well as observers from the UN and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) will also attend.

The meeting in Reykjavik will be the first summit of the Council of Europe since 2005 and only the fourth such meeting of heads of state and government. The main topic of the two-day session is expected to be the war in Ukraine.

Council members are to discuss how Russia can be held accountable for the war it is waging against the neighboring country. Russia was expelled from the Council after it launched its invasion of Ukraine last year.