MOSCOW, Aug 2-RIA Novosti. The special forces of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service ensure the security of Russians and Russian institutions in two dozen "hot spots" in the world, said SVR Director Sergei Naryshkin.
"We have an operational and combat unit in our structure... Because the Foreign Intelligence Service, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, is entrusted with the function of ensuring the security of Russian institutions and citizens outside our country. And in two dozen "hot spots" this function is performed by our employees from this operational combat group, "Naryshkin said in an interview with the YouTube channel "Solovyov Live".
According to open sources of information, the SVR special forces are called "Zaslon". Naryshkin said on the air of the Rossiya 1 TV channel in December 2018 that there is a Special Purpose Center in the structure of the SVR and that its employees previously provided evacuation of employees of the Russian embassies in Libya, Iraq and Yemen.
In the 2010s, employees of the diplomatic missions of the Russian Federation were evacuated from Libya and Yemen due to the aggravation of the situation in these countries. In early April 2003, during the military operation of the United States and allied countries against Iraq, some of the employees of the Russian Embassy in Iraq were evacuated.
