A report was delivered by Federal Security Service Director Nikolai Patrushev.
The President instructed the Foreign Ministry and security, defence and law enforcement agencies to step up talks on the legal formalisation of the Russian border.
He spoke in favour of boosting the military protection of those sections of the border that faced the threat of terrorist attacks and using a different approach to build up border forces elsewhere, one that depended on the situation of particular segments of the border and on the nature of likely threats to the country’s security.
The President said he did not think border troops could function without the support of local authorities in border areas. He also said it was necessary to make active use of the possibilities offered by international and regional alliances and organizations, above all the CIS, EurAsEC and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO).
The President also instructed the Government to speed up the drafting of a special federal programme to provide the necessary border facilities.
An effective national security policy, according to him, must further Russia’s integration into the world community, promote friendly relations with neighbours and fully correspond to the current approaches to human rights and freedoms.
Participants in the meeting included Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, speakers of both houses of the Federal Assembly Sergei Mironov and Gennady Seleznyov, Presidential Chief of Staff Alexander Voloshin, Security Council Secretary Vladimir Rushailo, Security Council members, key Ministers, heads of security-related departments, and presidential envoys to the federal districts.