Mikhail Kasyanov orders Russian civil defence to cope with new tasks

The Russian civil-defence organisation is now functioning as planned; however, new threats call for discarding traditional methods and searching for new solutions. This was disclosed here today by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, as he addressed a national conference involving regional civil-defence chiefs.

According to the Prime Minister, such work should encompass two aspects. On the one hand, we must train civil-defence units, ensuring their material-technical support all the same. On the other hand, though, we should streamline interaction between all institutions of state authority in accomplishing civil-defence objectives. We've got to train administrators, also explaining civil-defence issues to the population. Emergency humanitarian relief aid, as well as that in war-time, are closely linked with this aspect, Kasyanov added.

The latest international events show that any state's ability to defend its citizens is a basic pre-condition of society's sustainable development, Kasyanov stressed. In his opinion, the present-day conference is, in fact, an augmented Cabinet session dealing with civil-defence issues; among other things, this session stipulates a trip to civil-defence installations. Civil-defence issues have never been discussed in this format before, Kasyanov noted, suggesting that such conferences be organised at least once a year.