Russian Defence Minister: military anti-terrorist measures may be extreme but in some cases - necessary

Military measures in the fight against terrorism may be extreme but in some cases are absolutely necessary, Russian Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov said.

This was disclosed by the Russian Defence Minister at the opening of the international conference "Military Role in Combating Terrorism" under the aegis of the Russia-NATO Council.

According to Sergei Ivanov, international terrorism is being transformed from single manifestations to "the carefully coordinated mass phenomenon, uniting a broad spectrum of radical and extremist organisations, which are capable not only of cruel terrorist attacks, but also of full-scale terrorist wars in different regions of the world".

The Russian party, which has been fighting in the North Caucasus against abettors of international terrorism for more than eight years, will have plenty of information to share with its foreign colleagues in the course of the conference, the Russian Defence Minister said.

"The growth of international terrorism and its tendency to use imposing stock of ammo for mass destruction, violence and intimidation posses without any exceptions a real threat to the every country, despite its financial stability, economic development, form of government and religious affiliation", Sergei Ivanov stressed.

"It may be rough, but the international community was not poised to face effectively these challenges," the Defence Minister said.

The ability of various terrorist and extremist organisations to use weapons of mass destruction, primarily chemical and bacteriological weapons, sets more obstacles in the fight against these forms of terrorism, he added.

"One of the forces to prevent international terrorism is the military," the Russian Defence Minister stressed.

According to him, it will be expedient to carry out comparative analysis of Russian and NATO regulatory basis, concerning the fight against terrorism. "The results of the experts' work can be fixed by a joint decision", Sergey Ivanov said.