MOSCOW. June 7 (Interfax) - President Vladimir Putin has insisted that Russia's law enforcement and security services give a "rigorous rebuff" to radical nationalists and separatists and that the North Caucasus "remain under special control."
"Extremists who try to use radical nationalist and separatist slogans, those who try to divide our society and weaken the unity of the country, must receive a rigorous rebuff," Putin said at a ceremony marking the appointment of officers to high positions and conferment of top ranks on them.
"The situation in the North Caucasus must remain under special control. There must be a firm and consistent line of combating corruption, crime and the bandit underground. This is indispensable for further normalizing the situation and for ensuring wide public support for our actions," he said.
He urged the Federal Security Service (FSB) to keep anti-terrorism activities among its priorities, use modern tactics, and seek better coordination between services involved in anti-terrorism actions. "We can see that the positive results that our country and our people need extremely badly are in place," he said.
"As for other activities, I will, of course, point out counterintelligence. As we can see from the latest developments, it has lost none of its significance, and, in fact, the reverse is the case," Putin said.