MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/. The Russian Security Council has managed to maintain control over the migration system during its reforms, Deputy Secretary of the Security Council Alexander Grebenkin told reporters in an interview devoted to the Council’s 25th anniversary.

"During the reform (the transfer of powers to the Foreign Ministry’s Federal Migration Service), we managed to achieve the following: to provide for the continual operation of the migration system and stable control over the migration issue," he highlighted.

"Considering that the migration problem is on the rise globally, Russia’s Security Council is working on measures and tools for a rapid response to the threat of international terrorist and extremist organization members illegally migrating to Russia, in particular using Russia as a transit point to Europe," the Security Council official elaborated.

He went on to say that the number of migrants arriving and residing in Russia has been on the decline.

"Over the past year, crimes conducted by migrants have fallen in number," Grebenkin continued. "At the same time, the migration situation analysis helps to detect some negative trends in this sphere. Notably, despite the measures taken, the number of migrants living in Russia with an expired period of stay is still high, and the tools for revealing and preventing administrative infractions committed by migrants and expelling illegals from the country need further improvement.".