KIEV, February 6 (AVN) - The bulk of the Ukrainian border guard troops will be concentrated on the Russian section of the state border, a spokesman for the troops headquarters told the Military News Agency on Tuesday.
About 60 additional outposts, commandant's offices and investigation departments will be established there in 2001-2002, said the spokesman.
Commenting on the unduly excessive attention to the eastern section of the border Lieutenant-General Pavel Shisholin, Ukrainian border guard troops chief-of-staff, said that Ukraine is able to accept some 52,000 foreigners, whereas their real number in the country is bigger 25 times. The main stream of illegal migrants comes from the east. This is also the main route of drug-traffickers, smugglers and organised crime, which deteriorates the situation.
Shisholin cited his Russian counterpart Konstantin Totsky as saying Russia would also pay more attention to the border section in question. Border guards of the two countries are willing to co-operate more closely to ensure economic security of their countries.
Ukrainian border guards are positive that military-like ways of border protection have run dry. That is why drastic steps of the state border guard committee's reform are to be expected in the near future with the aim to transform the border guard troops into a specialist body reporting directly to the president with authorities like those of the Interior Ministry. To this end, 44 federal laws have to be amended.