MOSCOW, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The State Duma lower house of the
Russian parliament on Friday opened an extraordinary session on
Russia's economic crisis.
"We are meeting due to circumstances known to you all," Duma
speaker Gennady Seleznyov said at the open of the session.
Opposition parties say the government has mishandled the crisis
and have lambasted emergency measures announced on Monday, which
included a de facto rouble devaluation.
President Boris Yeltsin's political opponents have vowed to
unleash a fierce attack on him and his government in Friday's
debate. The communist faction proposed to approve an appeal to
President Boris Yeltsin recommending that he resign. The appeal
was included in the agenda.
Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko is expected to address the
Duma to explain his government's actions. Finance Minister
Mikhail Zadornov and Central Bank Chairman Sergei Dubinin were
also expected to make speeches.
The cabinet says the Duma has hindered its efforts to end the
crisis by failing to pass all the measures it has proposed for
tackling the crisis.
Interfax news agency said Kiriyenko met the leaders of some
political groups in the State Duma, the lower house of
parliament, and its speaker on Friday before the Duma session. It
gave no details.
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