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Yesterday the State Duma passed a ruling on fighting international
terrorism, prepared by the Duma foreign affairs committee. The
ruling expresses condolences to the American people and all other
countries whose citizens fell victims to the terror attacks in
New York and Washington.
“The State Duma fully supports the resolution of the UN Security
Council of September 12, 2001. The deputies call on the international
community to observe international conventions on fighting terrorism,”
it is said in the document.
The deputies appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to
initiate the creation of an international anti-terrorist task
force. They suggested that special attention be paid to the financing
of Russia’s national security when the State Duma considers the
2002 draft budget, and in particular to the organization of combating
terrorism. The deputies also recommended that the Russian government
step up work on settling issues regarding international and legal
status of Russia’s borders. The ruling was passed by a unanimous
vote of 380 deputies.
The document was passed during debates on the international
situation following the unprecedented terrorist acts in the United
States on September 11 and also possible future developments.
The debates were closed to the press. After the session, Grigory
Yavlinsky, leader of the democratic Yabloko faction, stated that
Russia was part of an international anti-terrorist coalition.
In his opinion, this follows from the Russian President’s position
and also from yesterday’s debates in the lower house of parliament.
According to Yavlinsky, the deputies practically did not voice
any objections to the main ideas of the ruling. He said, Yabloko
would insist that additional finances be allocated in the 2002
budget to strengthen Russia’s borders and increase safety of nuclear
power stations and international flights. In the view of the Yabloko
leader, the fact that the debates on fighting international terrorism
were closed was justified, because “positions, expressed by certain
deputies, might have been sensitive for some countries”.
See also:
Acts
of Terror in the US
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