Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for the improvement of the work of the Russian secret services, so that they can deal with "modern challenges and threats".
Putin made the request in a letter addressed to veterans and current operatives of the Russian security services, Reuters reported a statement from the Kremlin.
"I emphasize that modern challenges and threats, as well as the emergence of new destabilizing factors, require an increase in the efficiency of the entire system of domestic special services," wrote Putin, himself a former KGB spy, in a letter on the occasion of Security Services Day.
The key task of operatives of the Russian secret services is to fight against international terrorism and "any possible attempt by foreign secret services to deal a blow to Russia and its political and economic interests", according to the letter of the Russian president.
The European Union and the US have imposed a series of economic and visa sanctions against individuals and companies from Russia due to official Moscow's involvement in the Ukrainian crisis, as well as the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in March.
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