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The President said he had signed a law on local self-government, calling it one of the most important components of full-scale administrative reform. The law would become effective on January 1, 2006, he said. He explained that the sufficiently long interim period was needed to make proper preparations for its implementation. He stressed that he would issue the appropriate instructions to the Government soon.

President Putin also commented on the recent election of the President of Chechnya. He praised the high voter turnout and recalled that the republic’s parliamentary elections were to be held soon. In his opinion, work should be continued in the near future on a treaty delimiting powers between Chechnya and the federal centre.

Internal Affaires Minister Boris Gryzlov reported to the President that the election in Chechnya had been conducted without incident. The Minister also informed the President about attempts to destabilise the situation – 13 landmines had been destroyed in Chechnya on Friday and Saturday before the election.

Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev reported that the harvest season was over.