MOSCOW, July 7 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's upper house of parliament passed Friday a resolution giving the country's president the right to use the armed forces and secret services abroad to fight international terrorism.
In line with the document, the armed forces and secret services can act abroad to stop terrorist activity in order to protect citizens' rights and freedoms, Russia's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.
Russia's lower house of parliament passed the draft law Wednesday. With 226 votes necessary to pass the bill, 429 State Duma deputies backed the initiative, after which President Vladimir Putin submitted it to the Federation Council.
Putin asked parliament for broader anti-terrorist powers in the wake of the killings of five Russian diplomats in Iraq, allegedly by an al-Qaeda-linked group. One was shot on June 3 and the other four were abducted in the attack and later executed.
Last week, Putin ordered the secret services to hunt down and eliminate the killers, and offered a $10 million reward for information leading to their capture.
President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that using special services overseas to combat terrorism was not a breach of international law.
"I see no violations here. Under Article 51 of the UN Charter, states can individually or jointly rebuff an aggression. It does not say that this aggression should come from one state against the other," Putin said during a Web cast.
