(6 Feb 1997) Russian/Nat

Russian President Boris Yeltsin returned to the Kremlin on Thursday to meet the head of the upper house of parliament, the Federation Council.

Yeltsin has been sticking to a light work schedule as he recovers from pneumonia,

Federation Council Chairman Yegor Stroyev is one of the Russian politicians who's called for a change in the constitution to limit Yeltsin's powers.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin greeted the head of the upper house warmly enough.

But there was tension in the air as the two men sat down to discuss the political situation in the country.

Stroyev had recently been quoted as saying it was necessary to 'take a harder critical look at the current constitution', and warning that the country could no longer live by Presidential decree.

But on Thursday, Boris Yeltsin firmly asserted his powers.

Referring to rumours that pensions in the country would be abolished, the President was outraged.

SOUNDBITE: (Russian)
"Who is talking about this? Where did they talk about it? What plans have they made?
Neither the President or the government, nor the Federation Council or the State Duma have ever thought about it. I ask all pensioners to remain calm on the issue."
SUPER CAPTION: Boris Yeltsin, President of Russia

The 66-year-old fell ill with pneumonia exactly a month ago, and now spends most of his time recovering in an official residence outside Moscow since leaving the hospital on January 20th.

In November, he had a quintuple heart bypass surgery.

The last time he went to the Kremlin was a week ago for a meeting with Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin - who's currently on a visit to the U-S.

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