President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Please report on the current situation in the Caucasus, including my decision to end the counter-terrorist operation in the Chechen Republic. Is everything under control? How are you and our country’s other law-enforcement agencies coping in this new environment? What other problems are there? We can come back to that afterwards.
Federal Security Service Director Alexander Bortnikov: The general situation in the North Caucasus is difficult but manageable. We are in control. In the last month and a half or two months, there has been a slight increase in the number of acts of terrorism in Daghestan, and that trend worries us. Together with Daghestan law enforcement authorities, the Federal Security Service headquarters, the Ministry of the Interior and the Republic’s leadership are currently taking the necessary measures to contain this activity. There are certain causes that we are working on and analysing.
On the subject of ending the counter-terrorism operation in the Chechen Republic, I want to say that the situation is under the control of the Federal Government, local law enforcement agencies, and the Republic’s leadership. One positive sign is that we are taking joint measures together with law enforcement agencies in Chechnya and Ingushetia to contain the gunmen’s activities.
An example of this are the special operations conducted in the border area between the two republics, in which officers of the Federal Security Service and law enforcement agencies, I mean those of the Interior Ministry and of the Chechen Republic and Ingushetia, have all been involved. It should be noted that in recent years these agencies’ potential for action has significantly increased and their efforts have contributed to the normalisation of life in the region and various localities. Thus to date efforts to neutralise the activities of the gunmen and those who support them have been quite aggressive.
I believe that now that counter-terrorism operations have ended; the situation is moving in the right direction.
Dmitry Medvedev: Good. This work and these activities should be continued. We must see through to the end all of these operations being carried out against the gunmen: they have to be destroyed.
Regarding the general situation and specifically the legal aspects of this issue, we will come back to this topic in the near future.
Alexander Bortnikov: Ok.
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