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Putin requests Federation Council to authorise sending Russian troops abroad — Kremlin

The use of Russia’s contingent will be "based on the generally recognized principles and norms of the international law," the Kremlin press service said in a statement

MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has requested the Federation Council upper house of parliament to authorise the use of a Russian Armed Forces’ contingent outside the country based on the generally recognized international law norms and principles, the Kremlin press service reported on Wednesday.

"The head of state signed an executive order to appoint chief of the Russian presidential administration Sergey Ivanov, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and State Secretary - Deputy Defense Minister Nikolay Pankov the president’s authorised representatives during the consideration of the request to the Federation Council for allowing the use of a Russian Armed Forces’ contingent outside the Russian Federation based on the generally recognized international law norms and principles," the Kremlin said.

The Federation Council considers this issue behind closed doors, the upper house speaker Valentina Matviyenko said. "We proceed to the consideration of the second issue on the use of the Russian Armed Forces outside Russia," she said. "The decision has been made to consider this issue behind closed doors," the speaker said. Head of the Kremlin administration Sergey Ivanov is the reporter on this issue.

Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said on Wednesday at the upper house’s plenary session that the Federation Council (FC) is considering the issue of using Russian Armed Forces outside of Russia.

"We will now consider the second issue of using the Russian Armed Forces outside of Russia," Matviyenko said.

She noted that issue was submitted for consideration by the FC Committee on Defense and Security. "The decision was made to consider this issue behind closed doors," she said. Among those who are expected to report on the issue are Kremlin Chief of Staff Sergey Ivanov, Chairman of the FC Committee on Defense and Security Viktor Ozerov and First Deputy Chairman of International Affairs Committee Vladimir Dzhabarov.

According to the Russian Constitution, the Federation Council can consider the possibility of using the Russian Armed Forces outside Russia. The upper house of the Russian parliament used this rights last time on 1 March 2014, when it allowed the Russian president to use the Armed Forces in Ukraine until the situation there stabilizes. On June 25 last year, the Federation Council withdrew its permission on the request of the president. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS that the decision was made because three-party talks on the settlement of the crisis in Ukraine’s eastern regions have started.