MOSCOW. Nov 12 (Interfax-AVN) - The campaign in Chechnya "has been correct, on time and well-founded," President Vladimir Putin told armed forces commanders in Moscow on Monday.
"We encountered well-trained and mobilized groups of terrorists in Chechnya," Putin said. "This is not surprising, bearing in mind the financial support to terrorists, about which we know well now, and, unfortunately, our reckless and negligent attitude to the problem for years."
Now the situation in Chechnya has undergone a qualitative change, and the return to peace is "irreversible," Putin said. Thus the role of military units that are permanently stationed in Chechnya must also change, he noted.
"They [the units] must become an important factor in the security of local residents and regional stability," Putin said.