Problems of Chechnya at pace session in Strasbourg

The participants in the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe /PACE/ in Strasbourg pointed out that the problem of Chechnya should be resolved under the unconditional recognition of it as a subject of the Russian Federation. Speaker of the Federation Council (Upper House of Parliament) Sergei Mironov, who addressed the PACE session, spoke about it at the briefing. According to him, the discussion of the Chechen theme at the PACE session "is going on without a heat of passions, seriously and constructively." The Speaker also touched upon the legislative basis of the moratorium on capital punishment which had been introduced in Russia. That was one of the conditions for Russia's entry into the European Union. Sergei Mironov underscored that the leadership of Russia, including the Federal Assembly (parliament) "is making all possible efforts" necessary for the ratification of the sixth protocol of the European human rights convention which has a provision on banning capital punishment. "Today, those who addressed the PACE session pointed out that Russia was fulfilling its commitments in full," said Sergei Mironov.