MOSCOW, December 10. /TASS/. Russia does not meddle in the domestic affairs of other countries and, unlike the West, doesn’t upend state regimes, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin told Razvedchik magazine.
According to him, in line with the traditions established by generations of intelligence professionals, scientific and technical intelligence continues solving multilateral tasks to ensure the country’s security in the scientific, technical and technological fields.
"An intensified confrontation with the collective West and the introduction of illegal restrictions against our country, including restrictions on access to high-tech products, pose new large-scale challenges," Naryshkin noted.
"Perhaps the major challenges are to prevent Russia from falling critically behind advanced nations and facilitate the rapid transition of the domestic economy to the next, sixth, technological order," he continued.
"In this regard, I would also like to debunk a very common myth that intelligence allegedly aims to penetrate the state apparatus, political and public institutions of Western countries in order to detect their weaknesses and draft plans to undermine them in order to eliminate strong competitors," Naryshkin stated.
"This is certainly untrue. Russia does not interfere in the internal affairs of other states and, unlike the West, does not engage in regime changes," he said. "The task of our intelligence services is to provide the Russian leadership with information about the actual state of affairs abroad in a particular area and about the true intentions of the foreign authorities."
"It helps to avoid impulsive and thoughtless decisions that are fraught with unpredictable consequences, including the risk of military conflicts," Naryshkin added.