ROME, May 11. /TASS/. The European system of detecting and controlling terrorists lags 10 years behind the Russian one, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said in an exclusive interview with TASS.

He reported that together with foreigners the Russian terrorist database "has long contained more than 100,000 people;" that said, "there is a system of detecting and working with this category of people that is operating" on the Russian border. "This system showed itself to advantage," the senior diplomat stated. "There are officers working at airports who perform counter-intelligence functions; they deal with inquiries and separate terrorists from the general flow."

Syromolotov pointed out that the European Union still doesn’t have such a system. "This is what the European Union lacks, by the way," he noted. "Three years ago, when I came to Brussels a week after the terror attacks, they asked me to assess anti-terrorism security of the European Union, and I responded that they are lagging about 10 years behind Russia, in terms of their legislative measures, organization of cooperation and other things."