- Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (Photo : REUTERS/Alexander Zemlyanichenko/Pool )
MOSCOW, December 27 (KATAKAMI / Itar-Tass) -- President Dmitry Medvedev has demanded that heads of regional administrations should work more effectively on interethnic politics in the regions.
"I emphasize it is regions, rather than FSB and police, which are responsible for maintenance of civil peace and accord because clashes, crimes and murders are committed in your places. A federal component matters a great deal of course, but these problems have been growing at people's homes, in streets, rather than in criminal enclaves," Medvedev explained.
"It should be in the focus of attention of everyone. It is not a responsibility of (Regional Development Minister Viktor – Itar-Tass) Basargin alone who was entrusted to coordinate interethnic politics, but it is the responsibility of all of us present in this room," Medvedev stressed.
Medvedev urged to develop a new approach to ensuring ethnic accord. An earlier suggested concept of a national idea - the idea of the Russian nation, was absolutely correct, he said. However, such constructions never appear on paper as a result of a mere presidential decree. This is a result of hard work of the whole society, Medvedev stressed.
Medvedev reminded of the fact that in the past people of different color in the United States used to sit on different benches. “Today, the US society is one of the most tolerant,” Medvedev noted. “Russia should not be ashamed to learn,” the president concluded. (*)
