…AS DUMA DELEGATION AWAITS VOTE.

Russian Duma chairman Gennady Seleznev said yesterday that heated debate might accompany Russia’s admission to the Council of Europe, revealing that certain European parliamentarians had requested "detailed information on the tragic events in Kizlyar and Pervomaiskoye." Seleznev is part of a Russian delegation in Strasbourg for the January 25 vote on Russia’s admission to the council. Another delegation member, Vladimir Lukin, predicted that Moscow would be admitted by a close vote, but admitted that "the extreme unprofessionalism and neglect of human life shown during" the crisis had shocked council members lowered Russian prestige. Nonetheless, Lukin argued that the Council would be better able to influence democratic processes in Russia if Moscow was admitted. Meanwhile, the council’s parliamentary assembly said in a press release yesterday that there could be no peace in Chechnya without a political settlement. (6)

Yeltsin Opens Federation Council, Vows to Crush Chechen Rebels.