#5 - JRL 8386 - JRL Home
PUTIN: FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM IS FIGHT FOR NATIONAL UNITY

MOSCOW, September 29 (RIA Novosti) - Fight against terrorism is nothing but fight for the unity of Russia, Vladimir Putin told the Council for Interaction with Religious Associations under the president, gathered for a sitting on Wednesday.

"There are in Russia, with its age-long experience of peaceful coexistence, many peoples and religions, and the struggle against this threat is, in full sense, the struggle for the unity of our country", the Russian head of state said.

"You very well understand what it means in a country like Russia to maintain on-going confessional dialogue, strengthen ethnic accord", the president told the conference.

"We should forecast and forestall conflicts in which ethnic-confessional factors are present", the president emphasised.

In this connection, "I think important our cooperation in opposing extremist organisations in our country", he continued.

"There must be no doubt that in its far-reaching schemes international terror pursues separatist, political ends", Putin said.

He declared the inadmissibility of venting one's anger against terrorism on people of another faith and nationality.

To quote: "It is clear that being under criminals' thumb, venting one's anger against terrorists on people of another faith and nationality is entirely impermissible in general, an wholly disastrous in a multiconfessional country", the president said.

At today's conference we are talking of "the participation of religious organisations in the consolidation of civil society as regards the solution of one of the main goals facing us - opposition to terrorism and extremism in all its manifestations".

"It is clear that a serious goal like that requires our combined effort", Putin said.

"Towards their criminal ends extremists make active use of ethnic and religious intolerance", the president noted.

"Their speculations are very much based on distorting popular cultural and spiritual traditions and even on religious ignorance", Putin said. And added that he had many times spoke of that during personal meetings with members of the council.

"Terrorists cynically cover their violent and cruel doings under religious slogans", he noted.

In the opinion of the Russian president, "it is today extremely important to continue developing cooperation between religious associations and the state in the interest of meeting national goals".

As regards problems of the North Caucasian region, Putin said that its socio-economic development is required for uprooting terrorism there.

"We have taken a set of decisions towards serious strengthening of executive power in general and in the Southern federal district in particular. We are already working to ensure security for the North Caucasus and its and socio-economic development", the head of state said.

"This is to be done for, above all, uprooting terrorism in the region", Putin said.

"Of course, such work will not take a day or two. It will take a lot of time and a big common effort", the federal president said.

"It is extremely important for the North Caucasian region and the country as a whole", he noted.