Chechen State Council to run Chechnya's authorities until elections

The Chechen State Council will see to the functioning of the republic's authorities until Chechnya elects a president and a parliament of its own, Federal Minister for Chechen Affairs Stanislav Ilyasov told journalists after a Tuesday meeting with Reino Paasilinna, the head of a European Parliament delegation that recently returned from Chechnya, where it had been inspecting the progress of restoration works and the formation of local authorities.

According to the Election Law, the presidential election in Chechnya will take place 6 months after the adoption of the Chechen Constitution, which was approved by a recent referendum. The parliamentary elections will follow 3 months afterwards, Ilyasov reminded the assembly.

Paasilinna, on his part, noted that the referendum in Chechnya had been massively criticised in Europe but was nevertheless the first step towards settling the Chechen problem by political means. We met with the Chechen diaspora in Moscow, and it supports the political processes taking place in the republic, he said.