President Putin: Struggle Against All Forms Of Extremism Is Priority With Russian Interior Ministry

Vladimir Putin has said that the struggle against all forms and manifestations of extremism was one of the most important tasks of Russia's interior ministry. When addressing an extended board of the interior ministry Tuesday, the Russian president pointed to the fact that "inter-ethnic conflicts displayed a dangerous trend towards encompassing ever wider areas". In this connection, he recalled the recent pogrom on the Tsaritsino market in Moscow. Putin said that this incident should become a "serious warning". At the same time, the president stressed that the interior ministry's direct task was to put a stop to the criminal groupings' activities and avert conflicts on ethnic and religious grounds."