MOSCOW, September 16. /TASS/. Russia’s Federal Guard Service (FSO), which is responsible for the protection of the country’s top officials, cooperates with foreign colleagues, whom it sees not as rivals but as partners, FSO Deputy Director Viktor Shlemin said in an interview with TASS.
"The thing is that given all the differences, protection services of different countries pursue a common goal - to ensure security of top officials. That is why they are rather partner in their activities than rivals. And efficient cooperation is playing a special role," he said.
"First of all, such joint work is geared to ensure successful and efficient joint events and reliable operation and security of special communications systems that are used by government officials in Russia and in foreign countries," he noted.
"Apart from that, FSO representatives take part in events within the Association of Personal Protection Services (APPS), which includes 50 countries, including Russia," he said. "It helps maintain contacts with special services and law enforcement agencies of foreign countries and receive information on topics of interest for personal protection services and organizations."
According to Shlemin, Russia organizes professional enhancement courses for officers of foreign personal protection services. "It helps ensure mutual understanding during joint protective events," he said. "More than 65 experience exchange meeting, training sessions, professional enhancement courses have been organized in recent years both in Russia and in foreign countries."
"A separate format of cooperation with foreign partners is training of foreign personnel at the FSO Academy," he said. "Thus, officers of special services of the CIS member states, as well as of Abkhazia, Vietnam, Mongolia, South Ossetia have been trained at the FSO Academy since 2002. As many as 145 of them underwent training under higher education programs, and 698 - under professional enhancement programs.".