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Defiant Communist MP demands State Duma issue statement to cut ties with US

The State Duma speaker advised the Communist lawmaker to hash over this with US Senator John McCain

MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/. Nikolaty Kharitonov, a lawmaker representing the Communist party, has called on the State Duma (Russia’s lower house of parliament) to issue a declaration on breaking diplomatic ties with the US.

He also suggested that Russia should close its airspace to US planes.

Speaking at Friday’s State Duma plenary session, he said:

"I think it would be very objective, if the State Duma made a statement and suggested the government break diplomatic relations and close (Russia’s) airspace to US flights."

"They’ve (the US) got some nerve! We should issue this statement (about cutting diplomatic relations) at least on behalf of State Duma. Believe me, it is necessary to do this - to break diplomatic relations if we are strong and sovereign, along with denying their planes access to (Russian) airspace," the lawmaker demanded.

In turn, Speaker of the State Duma Vyatcheslav Volodin advised the Communist lawmaker to hash over this with US Senator John McCain.

"Nikolai Mikhailovich (Kharitonov), you are raising very important issues … It seems that you need to meet face to face with (US Senator) McCain and look each in the eye. Then you two could make a joint statement first in the US Congress and after that - right here (at the State Duma - TASS)," Volodin said.