MOSCOW, November 17 - RAPSI. The State Duma said in a draft statement on Thursday that the sentence given to Russian pilot Vladimir Sadovnichy and Estonian pilot Alexei Rudenko in Tajikistan is unfounded and politically biased. The Duma also warned that the judgment is detrimental to Tajikistan's and Russia's strategic partnership.

The deputies adopted the draft statement in essence. It will be put to vote at 5:00 p.m. Moscow time.

The deputies are hopeful that Tajikistan will heed "the voice of reason" and promptly react to the negative public attitude in Russia toward the unjust sentence, the draft says.

The deputies believe the sentence damages Tajikistan's future cooperation with Russia for ill-defined opportunistic reasons.

A Kurganteppa court sentenced on November 8 Sadovnichy and Rudenko to 8.5 years in prison for illegally crossing the border, smuggling and violating international air transportation rules.

The pilots' sentence was met with dismay in Moscow. The Russian Foreign Ministry called the sentence "excessively harsh and politically motivated" and President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia would respond to Tajikistan's actions.