On the Need to Create an International United Front to Combat TerrorismThe tragedy that has befallen the United States of America is monstrous in its scale, Russian Federation Security Council Secretary Vladimir Rushailo told reporters on September 12. What yesterday happened in America requires of us a sober comprehension and deep analysis of its causes and possible implications for our national security, he stressed. According to the Secretary of the Security Council, two major lines of comprehension of what has happened should be clearly singled out - internal and external.
The principal set of measures to counter terrorism within the country in principle is well devised, in both regulatory and practical terms. This mechanism is already operating, primarily as part of counterterrorist operations in the Chechen Republic. In the current situation, it will be put to use in other regions of the country as well, said Rushailo. This calls for greater mobilization preparedness and beefed-up protection of vital facilities and key state agencies in the first place. It was, in particular, the focus of a meeting in the President's Office, attended by the heads of the power ministries. It is necessary, the Security Council Secretary emphasized, that the power ministries and agencies assume strict control of these measures. Of special importance, furthermore, is the efficient coordination of the activities of all the power agencies concerned with security tasks, he said. Not a campaign limited in time, but a regular way of action for the long term - that's what they must be. The drive for the eradication of terrorism and its ideology should become a matter for all the people, Rushailo stressed.
Speaking of the external line, it can be stated that the cruel terrorist acts have led to a serious upheaval of the system of coordinates of international relations, Rushailo noted. Monitoring the international situation on a continuous basis, which the apparatus of the Security Council conducts along with other Russian state agencies, plays an exceptionally important role today in this connection. It is necessary to do everything to prevent events from getting out of control, outside the bounds of international law.
The Russian leadership has already taken the first steps in this direction, both in relations with the USA and with other countries of the world community. It is necessary to make this work systematic and purposeful. The leading role here, undoubtedly, belongs to the ministry of foreign affairs, Rushailo said, noting that the staff of the Security Council, for its part, has already begun taking energetic measures in this area on lines of partnership with similar structures in the states party to the Treaty on Collective Security, in the other CIS states, as well as the countries with which the security councils cooperation protocols are signed.
In the opinion of the Russian Federation Security Council Secretary, an international united front is needed for the campaign against terrorism. In the last few years, on Russia's initiative, important steps have been taken to create such a front.
An uncompromising war ought to be declared on international terrorism and the forces supporting it; the need is indeed ripe for the formation of a real antiterrorist international. The upcoming international summit meetings in Shanghai and the USA, and meetings by the President of Russia with the CIS countries' leaders and those of other states of the world take particular significance in this context, Rushailo noted.
In the very first hours after reports of the terrorist actions in Washington and New York, Vladimir Rushailo spoke to the US President's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, by telephone. Just as the President of Russia, he expressed the most deeply-felt condolences to the American people over the tragedy and offered to render any possible assistance. Some aspects of improving Russian-American security cooperation, particularly in the fight against terrorism, also were discussed. The Russian Security Council Secretary maintains constant telephone contact with the US President's national security adviser.
In these days Vladimir Rushailo has been intensively exchanging views with his counterparts in the far and near abroad on joint efforts to counter the terrorist threat. The Russian Federation Security Council Secretary has had telephone conversations with the State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus, Ural Latypov, as well as with the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Yevgeny Marchuk.
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