MOSCOW, Oct 3 (Interfax) - President Vladimir Putin said he sees sense in the Supreme Court's proposal to give general courts the right to hear cases normally referred to the European Court of Human Rights.

Putin was speaking at talks with Supreme Court Chairman Vyacheslav Lebedev on Wednesday.

"The cases involved include compensation by the state for damages suffered through failure to complete litigation by a reasonable deadline, or human rights abuses resulting from failure to implement court rulings," Lebedev said.

"This proposal is reasonable and will help develop Russia's judiciary and, most important, improve the processing of civil cases, and guarantee citizens' legitimate rights and interests," Putin said.

Putin also said he would fulfill Lebedev's request and ask the Duma to accelerate debates of a bill, submitted in February, which requires simpler court oversight procedures.

"The current court oversight procedure is so cumbersome that citizens can wait for years until their cases are heard under oversight arrangements," he said. The bill was approved by the Council of Europe's Council of Ministers. Some reasonable adjustments were subsequently made, which could be upheld in the second reading, he said. Putin supported this request, too.