MOSCOW. Dec 22 (Interfax-AVN) - President Vladimir Putin on december 20 urged security services to take more effective action to pre-empt violence in the North Caucasus.
"Law and order in the Caucasus and the Chechen Republic has become stronger largely due to the work of the Federal Security Service (FSB), its border guard service and other structures of the security establishment. Politically important measures have been carried through - the referendum and the election for president of Chechnya. And finally, priority significance should be given these days to forestalling and precluding new attacks and provocation acts on the part of bandits," Putin said during the celebration of Security Services Day.
"And it is obvious that what is needed here are pre-emptive tactics and extensive work of information and analysis. You realize full well: the price of procrastination, the price of losing initiative is extremely high. We pay the blood, the lives of our comrades and civilians for this.
"Extremely high standards are set for security services today, in the new century, as well. The need for this is the degree of danger and the very character of modern threats, above all the threat of international terrorism."
Putin said steps had been taken this year to optimize the country's security system.
"Their purpose is to raise the efficiency of special services, strengthen interagency coordination, concentrate resources, and on the whole make the defense of the country against potential and real threats, both internal and external, more effective," he said. "These reforms have already produced positive results."