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The Commander-in-Chief heard the report of the GRU head Major General Igor Sergun and presented state awards to the staff of the Military Intelligence Directorate.

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President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Greetings, comrades,

We regularly talk about strengthening our country’s defence and security as part of modern military development. I believe this meeting with military intelligence officers at the headquarters of the Military Intelligence Directorate is also very timely and important.

The GRU is one of the most highly professional special services, which safeguards the security and national interests of our state. Since its inception, the Directorate’s staff have always performed their duties with the utmost honesty, professionalism and efficiency, and some of the GRU’s special operations have made history of the Russian and international intelligence.

Today the Directorate has an arsenal of modern technology and equipment (of which we have just seen a few examples), including modern radio intelligence equipment, space intelligence, as well as multi-disciplinary analytical and research centres.

”One of the key objectives of all Russian special services, including the military intelligence, is the fight against international terrorism.“

The world is changing, the situation is changing, and that requires the adjustment of not only the intelligence priorities but also the procedures used to achieve our objectives.

As a consequence, we have reorganised the entire system of military intelligence. These changes have already been made. The results of the previous period showed that the GRU is successfully coping with its challenges and that in general the military intelligence operates professionally and efficiently.

Nevertheless, it is necessary to further increase the Directorate’s operational and information capacity, and analytical potential. You have been making progress in all of these areas. It is necessary to monitor the global military and political situation, to foresee the potential threats, which do exist, and to suggest ways to neutralise these threats. In general, you must keep track of new developments in the defence industry.

One of the key objectives of all Russian special services, including the military intelligence, is the fight against international terrorism. We must identify the channels for supplying weapons and funds to terrorists; we must always stay ahead of the game, thwarting the criminals’ plans, and if necessary, sharing information with our partners because the war on terror is global.

I am confident that the newly appointed head and all the officers of the Directorate will continue to expand its glorious traditions and the traditions of our military intelligence, and to serve for the benefit of our nation.

In conclusion, I would like to use this opportunity to present state awards to the officers of the Military Intelligence Directorate. Your professionalism is highly valued by our state. Your work is special: the vast majority of operations you conduct and all of your activities involve classified, secret information. But the facts that can be disclosed and made public indicate a very high level of our military intelligence. I am certain this will continue for years to come.

Let us move on to the awards presentation ceremony.

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