Russian President Vladimir Putin pronounced on Sunday at a working meeting with Chechnya's President Alu Alkhanov that he will sign a decree to set the parliamentary elections in the republic for Nov. 27, 2005, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

Putin received the Chechen President, Prime Minister Sergei Abramov and other top Chechen officials at the Bocharov Ruchei residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Sunday.

Putin asked Alkhanov if the conditions were good for organizing the parliamentary election in Chechnya. Having heard an affirmative answer Putin said: "Well, that's agreed, I'll sign the decree."

The president expressed hope that "this will be one more step to political settlement" of the situation in Chechnya.

"All the political forces that work to rehabilitate the republic must be represented in parliament," he noted, adding "they have the right to be there regardless of whether someone likes or dislikes them."

Alkhanov told Putin that 1.98 billion rubles (about US$69.5 million) had been spent to build new housing in the territory, and the construction works completed to date totaled 570 million rubles (about US$19.8 million).

But at the same time, the Chechen president complained that federal finance was not always remitted on time. "The finance was not released on schedule, as there had been procrastination with documents," Alkhanov said.

On the day, Putin also received Chechen Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov and the former Chechen president's widow Aimani at his residence in Sochi, ahead of Akhmad Kadyrov's birthday.

Putin thanked Ramzan Kadyrov for his effective work and said Chechnya is developing the way which murdered Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov would have hoped for.

(Xinhua News Agency August 22, 2005)