The Secretary General of the Council of Europe said on Sunday he hopes Russia will ratify the sixth protocol of the European Convention on Human Rights, which would ban the death penalty.
"We hope that the Russian Federation can ratify a sixth protocol under which the death penalty is completely abolished," Jagland said at a press conference during his visit to Moscow for the Victory Day celebrations
The death penalty was de-facto abolished in Russia in 1996 when the country joined the Council of Europe. Russia signed the sixth protocol in April 1997, but has not yet ratified the document.
The chairman of Russia's Council's Committee on Legal and Juridical Issues, Anatoly Lyskov, said on March 23 his committee was working on a draft law which would introduce capital punishment for those who stage terrorist attacks resulting in multiple losses of life.
Several law makers called for the the death penalty to be reinstated following the bombings on the Moscow metro on March 29 that killed 40 people.
Russian President Dimitry Medvedev has said Russia must stick to its international obligations not to reintroduce the death penalty
Jagland also spoke of the importance of maintaining good relations between the EU and Russia.
"The Russian Federation is a big and important country on the European continent and it is very important for the EU to maintain as close relations as possible with the country," he said.
He added, however, that it is unlikely that Russia will become a member of the EU in the near future.
MOSCOW, May 9 (RIA Novosti)
