Putin Says Idea to Write off Agricultural Producers' Fines is Fair

President Vladimir Putin believes it fair that Russian agricultural producers' fines and default interests be written off. Gennady Kulik, chairman of the agriculture committee of the State Duma, or the lower parliamentary house, said this to reporters.

Mr Kulik attended the president's meeting with the board members of the Central Council of the Russian Agrarian Movement public organisation that took place in the Kremlin on Tuesday.

When replying to the federal agriculture minister's request to write off domestic agricultural producers' debts, the president said the proposal carried much conviction, according to Mr Kulik.

Apart from that, the meeting discussed the whole range of specific measures the government must adopt shortly, particularly to control fuel and lubricants prices and pep up domestic grain production.

Also dominating the meeting agenda were issues related to the development of gardening in Russia, according to the MP. As many as 43 million Russian families have garden plots as of today. They are, however, outraged by having to pay 6,000 to 10,000 roubles for the privatisation of their land plots, said Mr Kulik.

Fair prices of fuel and lubricants was yet another problem that was prominent at the meeting, said Vice-Premier and Agriculture Minister Aleksei Gordeyev, also leader of the Russian Agrarian Movement.

Besides, they considered restricting agricultural produce imports and raising farmers' incomes, said the minister.