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The Council focused on the situation in the Chechen Republic and discussed military, political and socio-economic issues, primarily with regard to maintaining security, law and order.

President Putin told the meeting that the Chechen situation had stabilised considerably, large-scale insurgent operations were almost out of the question, but it was important to eliminate terrorist leaders and cut off the influx of weapons, money and foreign mercenaries from adjacent territories.

President Putin said the Chechen socio-economic situation had improved in 2002, but there were serious setbacks in some areas. He said the current intricate financial pattern, which involved too many agencies and banks, was the main source of problems.

Vladimir Putin instructed the Government to promptly work out and adopt an effective financial pattern that would exclude corruption and help meet specific deadlines.

President Putin said the Chechen political settlement was directly linked with disarming insurgent units, but efforts to build effectively working republican government agencies were no less important. He said the effective work of local government agencies would depend on properly organised personnel training programmes for local population. Among priorities the president also mentioned drafting effective republic legislation.

President Putin said the return of displaced persons from Ingushetia and Georgia was a major pre-condition for restoring socio-political life in Chechnya.

President Putin praised initial efforts to draft the Chechen republican constitution and said it was important to resume Russian television and radio broadcasts in Chechnya, to establish a republican radio station and to print newspapers there. He said the information vacuum was being eliminated rather slowly and that there was no media support in the counter-terrorist operations zone.