BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

26/06/2008

President of Belarus meets with head of Russia's Federal Security Service

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko told the visiting Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Aleksandr Bortnikov in Minsk on June 24 that cooperation between Belarus' State Security Committee (KGB) and the FSB provided "a reliable barrier to unfriendly acts on the part of certain countries and organizations", newspaper Belorusskiye novosti reports, referring to government news sources.

President Lukashenko noted that the Belarusian leadership fully agreed with the Russian President and government regarding priorities in efforts to ensure state security. According to him, the two agencies' work to ensure the security of the Belarusian-Russian Union State and issues concerning tactical and strategic cooperation in this sphere were discussed during his meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev in Brest on June 22. The presidents agreed that particular emphasis should be put on "specific steps in cooperation in the security sphere and the political and economic fields, which are aimed at securing the interest of each citizen," according to Lukashenko.

National Legal Internet Portal of Belarus marks that the President of Belarus thanked the Director of the Russian Federal Security Service for the assistance provided to the KGB. "You can always count on our support," Alexander Lukashenko is quoted by the portal as saying.

In his turn, Army General Alexander Bortnikov reportedly stressed that the Russian side fully understood the need and importance of cooperation with Belarus' KGB. "At today's joint board meeting, we'll discuss a number of important problems," he said. "We know the situation, have assessed all threats, and carry our work correspondingly," he said. According to him, the issues relating to various areas of cooperation in security were discussed in detail. "These are both economic factors and response to outside threats," Alexander Bortnikov said.

Source:

http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=1586

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