MOSCOW, July 9 (AVN) - Defence committee chairman in the State Duma lower house of parliament Andrei Nikolayev held a traditional meeting with foreign military attaches and their assistants on Monday, a committee spokesman told the Military News Agency.
The meeting was attended by military diplomats from 66 nations, the spokesman said. Nikolayev briefed them on results of the committee's activity during the spring session and plans for the autumn session.
Asked by a foreign attache about the committee's plans concerning co-operation with defence committees and commissions of European parliaments, Nikolayev said that he had met chiefs of such committees in the legislatures of Germany, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United States and was about to meet Dutch lawmakers. A meeting of European lawmakers dealing with defence issues would be expedient late this year, he said, adding that a corresponding interparliamentary group under the auspices of the European Union would be of use too.
Speaking about the reasons of delays in consideration of the bill on alternative military service Nikolayev stressed that they are caused by a complicated procedure. The Duma could have considered the bill yet in spring, but an alternative bill emerged at the moment. House regulations require simultaneous consideration of the two bills that is why the new document is currently analysed by various bodies allowed to introduce legislation, and only after that it will be put on discussion together with two other variants. It may happen already in autumn this year, Nikolayev said.
The passing on the law will reduce the number of people rejecting military service and will allow to establish alternative units totalling 800,000 people for use in certain types of activities necessary for the state. According to the lawmaker, the number of people willing to undergo military service will grow 32 to 36 percent after the law is passed.