Mintimer Shaimiev, ‘Tatarstan is the only unit of the Russian Federation that raised the issue of the agreement on delimitation of powers in proper time’

Tatarstan President Mintimer Shaimiev considers that the process of signing agreements on delimitation of powers between the centre and regions will not go beyond the republic and will not be continued within the framework of the existing federal legislation for other RF units.

The Tatarstan leader said it in the interview to Interfax agency on July 30. He alluded to the law “On general principles of organization of legislative and executive governmental authorities of the RF units” - it states that the agreements signed earlier are valid until October 2005. “The regions that would like to prolong practice of agreements had to sign new agreements or prolong the previous ones not later than July 2005”, M.Shaimiev explained. According to him, only Tatarstan addressed the head of the state with the issue of new agreement in proper time”.

“This document is vitally needed. We approached it through difficulties; additional consultations were necessary as the upper chamber of the parliament declined the agreement,” the head of the republic said that after that the Council of the Federation approved the document almost unanimously.

“We are very grateful to the RF President who found it possible to use an agreement form of delimitation of powers within the framework of the country’s Constitution in conditions of federative and democratic development of Russia. Undoubtedly, it will promote further consolidation of integrity of the Russian Federation ”, M.Shaimiev emphasized. In his opinion, the principle of signing agreements between the federal centre and regions does not come into conflict with the main law of the country. “To speak particularly, the 11th article of the RF Constitution declares that delimitation of powers between federal governmental authorities and a region is realized according to the RF Constitution, federative or other agreements,” the Tatarstan leader explained in the interview to Interfax.

Based upon practice of relations between the centre and regions, he continued, it is impossible to take into account all peculiarities of units by passing federal laws; mostly it concerns national republics in the process of delimitation of powers. “First of all I mean preservation of language, support of national-cultural traditions,” M.Shaimiev said. He stated that all discussions of “preferences received by the republic within the framework of the agreement” are invalid. “it is not a question of preferences. But there are problems that can be solved only through corresponding normative acts with participation of higher authorities of the RF,” the President explained. According to his words, the agreement reflects existing problems in ecology field and partly in economy.