MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. Russia has a very good culture of parliamentarism, which helps it stay balanced, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"I would like to thank you and all lawmakers of the current eighth convocation (and the previous one as well) that, despite the fact that opinions and points of view on the ways and methods of reaching our nationwide goals differ, the culture of parliamentarism has reached such a height that it protects us from going into extremes," he said at a meeting with the leaders of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) factions.

Putin noted that many of those present at the meeting have been party and faction leaders for quite a long time and thanked them for what they have managed to do over this period.

"You know only too well how things have been over these years, the conditions the country has been living in, the uneasy lot of our people in these decades. There were a lot of disputes, which now and then boiled into literally a hot phase," he said.

However, despite all the arguments, the parliament is managing to work in a civilized manner and respect alternative points of view, he noted.

"Such an approach to intra-faction relations was demonstrated when State Duma governing bodies were formed. And I think that this is right. This is how things should be," he stressed.