Azerbaijan, Baku, April 5 / Trend /
Russian MP Konstantin Zatulin lost his post as the first deputy chairman of the Duma Committee on CIS affairs, First Vice-Speaker of the State Duma Oleg Morozov told the Vedomosti newspaper.
He said deputy chairman of the International Committee, Alexander Kozlovsky, will be appointed to the vacant post.
The United Russia faction's decision is not officially justified, but it was agreed with Zatulin, Morozov said. He added that they also mulled Zatulin's voluntary transition to the international committee (there have been several cases of deputies' passing as simple members of other committees), but he decided to remain an ordinary member of the Committee on CIS Affairs.
Morozov said Zatulin's open criticism of President Dmitry Medvedev's decision not to veto the UN resolution on Libya authorizing allies to join the military campaign led to the demotion.
During the discussion of the draft statement on March 23, Zatulin proposed to delete a paragraph recognizing Russia's decision as "an adequate choice in this situation."
The United Russia faction's other member claimed this was the last straw, recalling that the faction planned to lower Zatulin's status in November 2010 due to Azerbaijan's sharp reaction to his trip to Nagorno-Karabakh.
The MP said the faction and the presidential administration disliked Zatulin's overly active position in foreign relations, often contradicting the official line.
Of course, the matter is not Libya, a member of the Public Chamber Maxim Shevchenko said.
The underlying cause is sought in Zatulin's convoluted relationships with heads of Foreign Policy, the State Duma and the Kremlin.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.