OMRI Daily Digest I, No. 88, 6 May 96

Russia cannot yet abolish the death penalty, AFP quoted Russian Foreign Minister Yevgenii Primakov as saying after the 3 May session of the Ministerial Committee of the Council of Europe. Primakov argued that Russian public opinion "would not understand" its abolition under current circumstances. Critics in the council's Parliamentary Assembly claim Russia has actually accelerated the pace of executions since joining the council on 28 February. They point to some 30 executions carried out in Russia since then, despite Moscow's pledge to abolish capital punishment within three years. Primakov also contended that Moscow is pushing for a peaceful settlement in Chechnya, another obligation it assumed upon joining the council. -- Scott Parrish