Anti-corruption struggle in Russia to be long - Medvedev.

MOSCOW, October 19 (Itar-Tass) -- The anti-corruption struggle should
not turn into routine and a short-lived campaign, Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev said in an interview with the Serbian newspaper Vecernje Novosti
on Sunday. He urged not to expect quick results.

"The political will of the country's leadership is quite determined,"
Medvedev noted. "The anti-corruption struggle should not turn into routine
or boil down to a short-lived campaign," the president believes. "The
result will not achieved soon, but the most important thing is to fulfil
consistently all that is planned, not to retreat and to create the
atmosphere of antagonism against corruption in the society," the president
pointed out.
Medvedev believes that one of the main barriers for the
anti-corruption struggle in Russia is "technological underdevelopment."
"The development of the information society, a higher quality and
'transparency' of so-called public services, many of which should be
provided in the electronic form, can change the situation not least of
all," the president elaboarated. "The accessibility of information about
the operation of state agencies for people, the minimization of the direct
communication between an official and a citizen - hamper 'the chain' of a
corruption conspiracy," he noted.
"Certainly, it is not the only way of the anti-corruption struggle,"
Medvedev added, recalling that the major measures were formulated in the
National Anti-Corruption Plan. "The emphasis is placed on preventive
measures, and we have already created the necessary legal framework in
this issue, particularly on a basis of the best international experience,"
he said.
"I believe that all these measures will certainly bring some results,
including those (measures) recently taken for the control over income and
property declarations of public servants," the president said.

.RF, Turkmen interior ministers to discuss crime fight strategy.

ASHGABAT, October 19 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian Interior Minister Rashid
Nurgaliyev and his Turkmen counterpart Isgender Mulikov will meet here on
Monday to discuss a joint strategy of the struggle with transnational
crime, the press centre of the Russian Interior Ministry told Itar-Tass.
"At the meeting the interior ministers intend to consider topical
issues of cooperation and outline priorities in the joint activities in
the near future," the press centre said. Alongside, the ministers will
discuss the joint training and retraining of staff and the measures aimed
at sealing off the illegal migration channels.
Rashid Nurgaliyev and Isgender Mulikov will sign a protocol on
cooperation between the Interior Ministries of Russia and Turkmenistan for
2010-2011. "Under this document the ministries will continue the practice
of coordinated joint measures to prevent, expose, curb and solve
transnational crimes, the liquidation of illegal migration channels, as
well as the joint counteraction to international terrorism," the press
centre reported. The ministries "will continue the joint work to
strengthen the legal basis of cooperation, particularly in the technical
equipping and the scientific-research sphere," the press centre said.
Currently the Interior Ministries of Russia and Turkmenistan are
cooperating in bilateral and multilateral formats. The chiefs and
officials of the ministries participate regularly in meetings and seminars
held within the CIS framework.
The ministries of the countries have intensified cooperation in 2008
after a meeting between the ministers in Moscow. The negotiations gave a
fresh impetus to the development of such spheres of cooperation as the
struggle with transnational organized crime, drug trafficking and the
struggle with cybercrimes. "Concrete results are achieved in the training
and retraining of staff, refresher courses for officers of the Turkmen
criminal police and the public security service in educational
establishments of the Russian Interior Ministry," the press centre
reported. The participation of a delegation from the Turkmen Interior
Ministry in the 77th session of the Interpol General Assembly, which was
held in St. Petersburg in October 2008, became an important event for
bilateral contacts in international organisations.
-0-baz