MOSCOW, May 27. /ITAR-TASS/. The Border Service of the Russian Federal Security Service will pay special attention to strengthening the Russian-Ukrainian border, its head Vladimir Kulishov said on Tuesday.

“We must pay particular attention to strengthening of the Russian-Ukrainian border, first of all its Crimean section. It is necessary to block the routes to our country for Ukrainian radicals and gunmen,” he told the Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily.

He said this year the service will put the main emphasis on cooperation with the border services of Eurasian states, “where an expansion of the Customs Union, and an advance to a higher integration level - establishing the Eurasian Economic Union, is on the agenda”.

“In view of the withdrawal in 2014 of part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) from Afghanistan and a possible deterioration of the situation in the Central Asian region, we are strengthening contacts with our colleagues from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan,” Kulishov added. “Joint measures will be taken to neutralize threats to security coming from Afghanistan,” he said.

The Border Service chief said last year, almost 173 million people and 29 million vehicles crossed into Russia. “Accordingly, the number of those who attempt to cross the border with invalid, forged or another person’s documents is also growing,” he added, saying that more than 106,400 such people were exposed last year.

All in all, more than 3,400 border transgressors were detained last year, and more than 57,000 violations of state border regime were prevented. A total of 2,652 criminal cases were opened, and 1,462 people were convicted.