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Crimea and Sevastopol

Russian PM orders prompt formation of law enforcement agencies in Crimea

Dmitry Medvedev ITAR-TASS/Alexander Astafyev

Dmitry Medvedev

© ITAR-TASS/Alexander Astafyev

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SIMFEROPOL, March 31. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that he has given instructions to his subordinates to arrange the work of law enforcement agencies in Crimea.

“All issues regarding the organization of relevant law enforcement structures should be resolved as soon as possible as this is directly connected with ensuring law, order and security in Crimea, with counteraction to aggressive actions on the part of nationalists and extremists,” Medvedev said at a government meeting held in Crimea’s capital Simferopol.

The prime minister recalled that the Russian defense and interior ministers, as well as the heads of the Investigative Committee and the Federal Security Service (FSB), visited Crimea last week.

The Republic of Crimea, where most residents are Russians, signed a reunification agreement with Russia on March 18 after a referendum two days earlier in which most Crimeans voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.

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Crimea and Sevastopol

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FACTBOX: Collective Security Treaty Organization

The Collective Security Treaty came into force on April 20, 1994 to herald the emergence what would eventually become the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The six member-countries are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan