MOSCOW, Aug 5 (Reuters) - The Communist speaker of Russia's Duma lower house
of parliament said on Wednesday he saw no reason for the chamber to cut short
its holidays to debate government anti-crisis bills already rejected last month.
Gennady Seleznyov made clear the government had not amendended the laws
since their rejection in July and the Duma would not discuss any bills unless
they have been seriously reworked.
"There is no sense in returning to old government-proposed bills that have
been rejected. They will be rejected anew," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Gennady
Seleznyov as saying.
"So far there are no laws which had to be passed at an extraordinary
session. In one word there is nothing to review."
The government proposed anti-crisis plan is a package of mainly fiscal laws
aimed at closing a widening gap in Russia's budget.
Seleznyov made his comments in St Petersburg, where he is spending his
holidays. He was due to fly to Moscow later on Wednesday for a meeting with
Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko.
Kiriyenko hopes to persuade the opposition-dominated State Duma to break its
recess later this month in order to debate parts of an anti-crisis package it
failed to pass before heading off on holiday in July.
The Duma is not due to sit until September 21.
Kiriyenko and his government are battling to save the state from financial
collapse after winning a $22.6 billion bailout last month from international
lenders.
The government and President Boris Yeltsin have introduced some of the
anti-crisis measures by decree but under the constitution only parliament can
change or impose fiscal laws, which form the basic part of the government's
programme.
The International Monetary Fund last month cut its first tranche of this
year's $11.2 billion credit by $800 million due to delays in implementing
anti-crisis measures largely due to the Duma's failure to pass key tax laws.
Comments