TSAMTO, October 26. Russian President Vladimir Putin held a videoconference meeting with participants of the meeting of the Council of Heads of Security Agencies and Special Services of the CIS member states.
Below is the introductory word in .Putin is quoted in the statement of the Kremlin's press service.
Vladimir Putin: Dear Alexander Vasilyevich (Bortnikov)!
Dear colleagues!
Good afternoon!
I welcome you to Moscow at the next meeting of the Council of Heads of Security Agencies and Special Services of the CIS countries.
I would like to note right away that over the past years, the Council has established itself as a very popular platform for discussing a wide range of professional issues, for developing strategic solutions related to the protection of our states and the entire Commonwealth from internal and external threats.
Today your joint work is especially significant. The conflict potential in the world as a whole, as well as at the regional level, remains very high. New risks and challenges for collective security are emerging.
First of all, this is a consequence of the sharp aggravation of the global geopolitical confrontation. Literally before our eyes, the world is changing and really becoming multipolar. However, some participants in international communication are trying to preserve their tottering hegemony at any cost, using a wide range of political, military, economic, informational, and other methods and means – from breaking the legal mechanisms of strategic stability to imposing unilateral sanctions against those who disagree with their policies.
They do not disdain even direct diversions. I am referring to the organization of explosions on the international gas pipelines of the Nord Stream. In fact, we are talking about the destruction of the pan-European energy infrastructure. And this is done despite the fact that such, if I may say so, methods, of course, cause enormous damage to the European economy, significantly worsen the living conditions of millions of people. And, in fact, they keep quiet about who did it, who is interested in it.
The tactics of blackmail, pressure, intimidation have long been used by some countries almost throughout the Commonwealth. Thus, attempts to implement scenarios of "color revolutions" do not stop, the map of nationalism and extremism is actively used, armed conflicts are fomented, directly threatening the security of all CIS members.
What they are trying to achieve – those who are doing it – we see on the example of Ukraine, which has become an instrument of American foreign policy. The country has actually lost its sovereignty and is directly controlled by the United States, which uses it as a battering ram against Russia, against our Union State with the Republic of Belarus, and against the CSTO and the CIS as a whole.
At the same time, the true attitude of the States towards their satellites is clearly visible. Almost immediately, the Ukrainian territory was turned into a testing ground for military biological experiments, and now they are pumping up weapons, including heavy ones, ignoring the statements of the Kiev regime about the desire to get nuclear weapons. After all, it was said publicly by the Kiev authorities about this – no, everyone keeps quiet. It is also known about plans to use the so-called dirty bomb for provocations.
Speaking about threats in the Commonwealth, I would like to note that the level of danger posed by ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups is not decreasing. They are trying to infiltrate the CIS countries, form clandestine cells, and the concentration of militant groups in Afghanistan, especially near the borders with the republics of Central Asia, of course, carries a potential risk of invasion in this region.
It is obvious that neither the Commonwealth as a whole nor our countries individually have yet faced such complex threats. And our common task is to protect our peoples from them as much as possible, to strengthen stability and peace in the CIS space, to continue the development of those mutually beneficial integration processes that over the past decades have become an example of genuine partnership relations.
Today it is important to mobilize all the forces and means entrusted to you to solve these tasks. And, of course, to make full use of the accumulated experience and contacts, which, as we have seen more than once, significantly increase the potential and efficiency of each service.
One of the priorities is to jointly counter attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the Commonwealth countries. We know with you what it is. To do this – to counter this – it is necessary to more actively uncover and stop the work of foreign special services aimed at destabilizing the situation in each individual CIS member state.
It is important to continue the coordinated systematic fight against terrorism. There has been a positive trend in this direction recently. Thus, the number of terrorist crimes, including terrorist attacks, has decreased in almost all countries of the Commonwealth.
It is necessary to further develop cooperation in the field of counterterrorism. In particular, to continue the exchange of information on those involved or suspected in terrorist and extremist activities, to concentrate efforts on identifying and blocking the channels of penetration of terrorists under the guise of migration flows, including the spread of foreign mercenaries with combat experience, which poses a serious threat.
The black market of weapons operating in Ukraine poses serious challenges. Cross-border criminal groups are actively involved in its smuggling to other regions. It's not just about small arms. There are still risks of getting into the hands of criminals more powerful means of destruction, including portable anti-aircraft missile systems, high-precision weapons.
Further. The terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge, attempts of sabotage at the Kursk nuclear power plant, in any case, such sabotage has already been committed around the nuclear power plant, and many other incidents show that increased security measures should be taken with respect to critical transport and energy infrastructure. It is these objects, as well as places of mass stay of citizens, that should be protected as much as possible.
Such tasks as the fight against cybercrime, drug trafficking, the elimination of cross-border criminal communities and, of course, the development of cooperation in the protection of state borders remain relevant.
I am sure that today's meeting will serve the common cause of strengthening the security of our countries and the Commonwealth as a whole, of course, will increase the effectiveness of joint actions of the special services to neutralize common threats.
Dear colleagues, friends, I wish you success – success in your very necessary, in-demand work, difficult, but very necessary work.
Thank you for your attention. Thanks.
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