TBILISI. Nov 14 (Interfax-AVN) - Deputy Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Viktor Kolmogorov visited Georgia's Pankisi gorge on Wednesday evening before completing a two-day working visit to this country, official of the Georgian State Security Ministry Nika Laliashvili said.
"Kolmogorov and accompanying persons were given a possibility to visit all the villages in the gorge and make sure that stabilization measures taken in the area by the Georgian party are efficient," Laliashvili told Interfax-Military News Agency.
He stressed that regular contacts between Russian and Georgian secret services on issues of mutual interest contributed to the decrease of tensions in relations between the two nations.
While staying in Tbilisi, Kolmogorov discussed issues pertaining to national security of the two countries, Georgian State Security Minister Valery Khaburdzania earlier told Interfax- AVN.
"Law enforcement and security structures of the two countries are accurately fulfilling instructions by Georgian and Russian Presidents Eduard Shevardnadze and Vladimir Putin that they issued after the CIS summit in Chisinau, which concern both joint border patrolling and coordination in other issues," Khaburdzania said.
Speaking about the situation in the Pankisi gorge and areas close to the Russian border, Khaburdzania said "small groups of criminals and rebels" remained there though there was only a handful of them.
"All criminals and rebels will be detained and brought to justice" during the ongoing operation in Pankisi, he stressed.