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Russia's constitutional foundations to remain intact, senate speaker says

Valentina Matviyenko stressed that the Federation Council was a particularly important government body for the federal system as it represented the country’s regions

Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko Mikhail Tereshchenko/TASS

Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko

© Mikhail Tereshchenko/TASS

MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. Changing Russia’s state system is out of the question at this point in time, Federation Council (the upper house of parliament) Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko said in an interview with TASS Director General Andrey Kondrashov.

"I don’t think that it will be possible to discuss any changes to our state system in the foreseeable future," the senate speaker pointed out, when asked if it was possible to speculate about adopting a different form of government. She noted that one of the main provisions of Russia’s 1993 Constitution, which described the country as a federation, turned out to be "the only possible and right option."

The upper house chairperson stressed that the Federation Council was a particularly important government body for the federal system as it represented the country’s regions. "We protect the interests of the regions, which is how we put it. We maintain contact with the cabinet and the State Duma (the lower house - TASS) to make sure that no law violates the rights and powers of the regions, worsens their budgetary support, reduces the level of social welfare and so on," she said.

"Our Constitution determines the unique powers that only the Federation Council has. We strive to do our job in good faith so that all our laws are in line with the interests of the people," the Federation Council chairperson emphasized.

The approval of Russia’s Constitution on December 12, 1993, was a milestone event in the country’s history as the fundamental law became a solid foundation for efforts to preserve the country’s integrity and ensure its development, Matviyenko added.

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