Other high-placed officials to attend the meeting were the head of the presidential administration Dmitry Medvedev, FSB director Nikolai Patrushev, Security Council Secretary Vladimir Rushailo, Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov, the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Lebedev, and the Supreme Court Chairman Vyacheslav Lebedev.
Putin began by praising the security services for their immaculate performance in 2003. ''Last year units of the Russian FSB on the whole coped successfully with the tasks set. I would like to thank you and all FSB staff for conscientious service, for performing your duties which are never simple and which in many cases involve a risk to life,'' he said.
Putin noted that the situation in Chechnya and in the North Caucasus as a whole ought to remain ''under the special control'' of the FSB and other power-wielding structures. The head of state stressed that ''now people in the region ought to have all the opportunities to implement their constitutional rights and economic liberties''.
The president also urged the FSB officials to ''rigorously observe the rights of economic entities and citizens'' while combating economic crimes. ''Security service staff should act strictly within the limits of their competence, and most importantly, when fighting crime one has to rigorously observe the rights of economic entities and citizens. The law-enforcement system as a whole should be able to protect an honest businessman from criminal and, if possible, administrative pressure in a professional and competent manner,'' he said.
Another important issue touched upon by the head of state concerned the protection of the country’s extensive state borders. The protection of the state border requires heightened attention on the part of special services, the president said. He stressed that the plan for manpower acquisition for the border service ought to be ''adhered to and implemented''. ''This made it incumbent on the state to inject considerable finance. This is a lot of money, and the state has found the money, and I very much hope that it will be spent in a rational manner and will be of benefit to the state.''
He also called on the security service to pay extra attention to the fight against foreign and industrial espionage. Russia ''is actively integrating into the world economy, so it is necessary to protect inventions and technology from industrial espionage and other forms of unfair competition, which inflict huge damage on the country,'' he said. ''The competitiveness of leading industries and the attractiveness of business in Russia greatly depend on that.''
He also stressed that in 2004 the FSB ought to ''step up the fight against illegal migration''. At the same time, he said, Russia needs an ''influx of migrants'', but labour migrants should go to those regions where Russia benefits from it most. ''Order ought to be brought into this [sphere],'' the head of state said. ''Control over illegal migration is a relatively new problem for Russia, but it has become one of the most topical in recent years,'' Putin noted.
''Migrants often find themselves deprived of rights; they need protection, both in their relations with employers and because of the arbitrary behaviour of officials, which is a breeding ground for offences.''
At the same meeting Putin called for a thorough investigation into the outbreak of pneumonia among border guards in Russia's Far East after they were forced to stand outside in freezing temperatures while their plane refueled. One young guard died and more than 119 new conscripts fell ill in Magadan, in Russia’s Far East. ''They were left in the wind and cold and are all now hospitalized,'' Putin said in remarks shown on Russian television. ''This case must be thoroughly investigated and those guilty punished.''
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