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Foreign intelligence may plot to destabilize North Caucasus, warns security official

Deputy Director of Russia’s National Guard Sergei Melikov pointed out that religious conflicts and territorial disputes occasionally break out in the region

BALASHIKHA, April 16. /TASS/. The North Caucasus may become a target for those who seek to spread instability in the country, Deputy Director of Russia’s National Guard Sergei Melikov told reporters on Tuesday.

According to him, "the Caucasus has been and for now will remain a region that, from our foreign partners’ standpoint, may become a target for intelligence agencies and those who may try to create instability of various sorts there."

The deputy director pointed out that religious conflicts and territorial disputes occasionally break out in the North Caucasus. "The deployment of law enforcement units [the Joint Military Force] cools off hotheads and makes it possible to timely respond to challenges and threats," he said, adding that "law enforcement agencies have complete control of the situation in the Caucasus, there are no deterioration trends but we do remain ready for action."

Melikov went on to say that, the region had gone through crucial changes. "We cannot help but witness the changes that have taken place in the Caucasus. Numerous counterterrorism activities, aimed at eliminating clandestine armed groups, have been conducted in Dagestan, which was viewed as ground zero for terrorist activities over the past years," the National Guard deputy chief noted.

Chechnya and its capital of Grozny have become a tourist destination. "If you come to Mineralnye Vody’s airport, you will meet travel agents who will offer you tours to the Chechen Republic, even to the mountainous areas where it was impossible to travel in the past," he emphasized.

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