Russian State Duma welcomes Mubarak resignation

The Russian State Duma, or the lower house of the parliament, welcomed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's resignation, local media reported on Friday.

"This decision is absolutely right, because even the curfew in Cairo has not stopped the president's opponents and situation may go to the unpredictable tragic consequences," Leonid Slutsky, deputy head of the Duma's International Committee, was quoted as saying.

Another senior official of the Duma, Leonid Kalashnikov, said that Mubarak's decision to resign was made "late but it was the only one correct."

Meanwhile, the last 200 Russian tourists are to leave Egypt on Saturday at 3 p.m. local time (1300 GMT), the Russian Tourism Agency (Rosturizm) said.

On Friday, Egypt's Vice President Omar Suleiman announced President Mubarak has stepped down and the military has taken charge of the country.

Source: Xinhua