STAVROPOL. Jan 14 (Interfax-AVN) - The operational commanding officer meeting of the North Caucasus Regional Border Guard Directorate has finished in Stavropol on Wednesday.
"The three-day operational meeting of the North Caucasus Regional Border Guard Directorate was aimed at summing up the results of 2003, and defining objectives for 2004," Lieutenant Colonel Sergey Livantsov, head of the directorate's press- service, told Interfax-Military News Agency.
Livantsov noted that special attention had been paid to improving skills of commanding officers in organizing and supervising activities of subordinate units.
"It has also been emphasized that borderline areas have recently seen a very complicated environment: Muslim pilgrims have started the hajj, which can be used by certain terrorist organizations to traffic mercenaries, arms, ammunition, financial and other assets to Russia in order to support guerilla units in the North Caucasus, as well as transport Chechen warlords and wounded guerillas abroad," Livantsov said.
He noted that the greatest flow of pilgrims was expected at the Yarag-Kazmalyar, Tagirkent-Kzamalyar, and Makhachkala- Aeroport checkpoints.
"In this light a number of steps are being taken at the check-points, which nevertheless, will not create any additional obstacles for law-abiding citizens, crossing the state border," he emphasized.