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Russian lawmakers to discuss foreign interference in domestic affairs on August 19

The initiative was sparked by some foreign media coverage of events during a recent unauthorized rally in Moscow

Russia's State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS

Russia's State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin

© Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS

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MOSOW, August 12. /TASS/. Russia’s State Duma (the lower house of parliament) Council will hold a special meeting on August 19 to discuss foreign interference in the country’s domestic affairs, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin told reporters on Monday following a meeting with State Duma Security and Anti-Corruption Committee Chairman Vasily Piskarev.

"All of the State Duma’s political factions believe there is a need to investigate foreign interference in our country’s domestic affairs," Volodin said. "We have decided to hold a special meeting of the State Duma Council at 12pm on August 19 in order to discuss the issue," he added. According to the parliament speaker, Piskarev "has been instructed to study all the available data, assess the situation and present initiatives concerning an investigation into foreign interference to the State Duma Council."

According to the State Duma’s press service, the Security Committee’s chairman informed the speaker that requests would be sent to the Foreign Ministry, law enforcement agencies and the media watchdog to provide all the available information on foreign countries’ interference in Russia’s internal affairs.

The opposition factions in the State Duma earlier called for investigating interference in Russia’s domestic affairs by a number of foreign media outlets and diplomatic missions, particularly during a recent unauthorized rally in Moscow. The ruling party, United Russia, supported the initiative.

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