Over 300 terrorists eliminated - Putin

He appreciated the successful work of anti-terrorist units but said at the same time that the special services still had to develop further cooperation skills, especially ahead of the forthcoming sports and political events.

Sessions on fighting against terrorism traditionally take place without journalists who only listen to the president’s opening speech. This time, commanders of the Federal Security Service, the Ministry of Defence and the Interior Ministry gathered at Vladimir Putin’s residence in Moscow suburbs. A video communication with the capital of Chechnya was established during the session. One of the topics for discussion was the results of the strategic exercises Caucasus-2012 that took place on the territory of the southern military region between the 17th and the 23rd of September. According to Vladimir Putin, the exercises proved that such manoeuvres were necessary to make officers and servicemen from different ministries and departments feel each other’s shoulders. At the same time, the Russian president voiced the statistics of anti-terrorist operations. 479 bandits have been detained and 313, including 43 leaders, have been eliminated over the last few months. However, the special services still have a lot of unfulfilled tasks.

"In recent years, a lot has changed with regard to methods of fighting against crime and terrorism. Our special services have started to act more effectively. At the same time, every mistake costs us too much, so we should work incessantly, resolutely and daringly if needed. We should be able to prevent terrorist acts. Our anger should be aimed against bandits, terrorists and criminals, while we should be very careful with law-abiding citizens during any anti-terrorist operations.”

Vladimir Putin also mentioned several important political, economic and sport events that are to take place in Russia in the next few years, such as the G8 and the G20 summits, the Student Games in Kazan, the Olympic Games in Sochi and the World Football Cup. The president called on law-enforcing structures to prepare for these events in due time, especially since the government allocated all the required means for that in full volume.

"Law enforcers and the special services should spare no effort to provide a calm, businesslike and festive atmosphere for these events. This is not an easy task in today’s world and in this country. There are a lot of hot spots in Russia and the entire world. On the other hand, we have enough power and skills to prevent all possible dangers.”

Vladimir Putin added that the special services and law enforcers ought to improve the system of providing citizens with information, especially in regions where special operations are carried out and where the danger of terrorism still remains. At the end of his opening speech, Putin thanked all those law enforcers who take part in anti-terrorist operations.