MOSCOW, December 21. /TASS/. Russian lawmakers have passed about 60 new statutes as part of legislative efforts to ensure the integration of Russia’s new regions, Federation Council (upper house of parliament, or "senate") Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said.

"The integration of the newly affiliated regions into the country’s legal, social and economic fields was one of our priorities. We passed 56 laws. That said, we completed work to create a legal basis for the integration of the regions, largely at the federal level," she noted at a press conference highlighting the results of the fall parliamentary session.

Matviyenko pointed out that the Federation Council is the parliamentary chamber that represents Russia’s 89 regions and, as such, it "is committed to providing consultative and expert assistance, developing regional [and] municipal laws, and establishing regional [and] municipal government agencies." "It was for that purpose that we created the Integration Council, which deals with both systemic issues and specific matters," Matviyenko added.