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Russian law enforcement agencies foil 98% of terrorism-related crimes at preparation stage

Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council Yuri Kokov pointed out that in the past five years the number of terrorism-related crimes had fallen tenfold, from 36 in 2015 to three in 2020

MOSCOW, July 6. /TASS/. Russian law enforcement and intelligence agencies have improved their performance, Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council Yuri Kokov told reporters on Tuesday, adding that no major terrorist attacks had taken place in the country in the previous five years.

"The level of terrorist activities in our country has significantly declined, while intelligence and law enforcement agencies have increased the effectiveness of work aimed at combating terrorist threats, detecting and curbing the activities of those, who spread terrorist ideas and their supporters," Kokov pointed out.

According to him, "no major terrorist attacks took place in Russia in the past five years, and the number of terrorism-related crimes fell tenfold, from 36 in 2015 to three in 2020". "Moreover, 98% of these kinds of crimes are thwarted at the preparation stage," the Russian Security Council deputy secretary added.

"Russia’s consistent efforts delivered a significant blow to international terrorism, first and foremost, to the Islamic State terror organization [outlawed in Russia], whose armed units were defeated and the remaining forces had to disperse or go underground," Kokov noted. He added that "terrorists’ plans to create a Caliphate in Syria and Iraq and expand their activities were thwarted".

According to him, pandemic restrictions "made terrorists move most of their activities to the Internet, using the web to recruit new members, spread their ideas, raise funds, and manage their clandestine cells". The Russian Security Council deputy secretary added that all the current trends had been taken into account when developing the new version of the National Security Strategy.

The Russian president earlier signed a decree approving the new version of the National Security Strategy. The previous one took effect on December 31, 2015.