Russian President Vladimir Putin said he will not repeal...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he will not repeal the moratorium on the death penalty currently in place."As long as it depends on me, there will be no death penalty in Russia," he said.Due to rising crime, public pressure on Putin to reinstate the death penalty has been increasing."Some political forces will definitely be speculating on the issue during the forthcoming Duma and presidential elections," Putin said."It might have been politically beneficial to announce a return to death penalty practices and relieve myself of the problem for several years, leaving it to others," he said."But this would be cheating on the people and the country," he added.Putin said he believed the government should seek other efficient ways of fighting crime, rather than taking populist steps such as dropping the ban on death penalty.Putin also said that Russia had given a pledge to the Council of Europe to halt the death penalty."Russia should be a reliable and predictable partner, which strictly fulfills all assumed obligations. We have so far acted exactly like this," Putin said.While the death penalty remains on the books, executions have been suspended since 1996.