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Vladimir Putin thanked the staff of the Russian and international security services for their efforts to maintain security during the World Cup.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, partners,

I am delighted to meet with you personally to thank you for your concerted efforts during the preparation for and the holding of the FIFA World Cup. I want to express my gratitude to the Russian security and law enforcement agencies, as well as to the staff of law enforcement and security services from over 30 countries. As far as I know, 126 members of 55 security and law enforcement agencies from 34 countries were involved in this work.

You had a very special and responsible mission in Moscow – to work at the Centre for International Cooperation to ensure security during the World Cup and to protect the life and health of the people, including your citizens who have come to the World Cup on official delegations and as individual fans.

All of you here are top professionals who are aware of the major risks involved in holding large international events. It is highly commendable that not a single major incident happened during the tournament.

I want to express my gratitude to you and to all other members of the Centre, including your colleagues from the FSB and other relevant Russian agencies, for your professional coordinated efforts. It was thanks to all of you together and individually that this unforgettable event was held in Moscow and other Russian cities in a positive and festive atmosphere. This success is the result of thorough preparations, operational, analytical and information work, your all-out efforts and absolute concentration.

The preparations included checking on over 2 million people who were building and preparing the sports facilities and helped organise the tournament, as well as volunteers and other individuals involved. You held over 400 inspections at 194 infrastructure facilities to check them for radiation, chemical, biological and explosion threats.

The fans’ identification system, which included the issuance of personified Fan IDs, and the co-integrated system of monitoring access to the stadiums involved a huge organisational effort. This allowed us to monitor the fans’ visa-free entry to Russia, their free travel by surface transport between the host cities and access to the stadiums, as well as to monitor the individuals who represent a security threat.

During the World Cup, you neutralised nearly 25 million cyberattacks and other criminal encroachments on the Russian information infrastructure connected, in one way or another, to the football tournament.

Those who came to Russia for the tournament felt safe and could travel safely and comfortably between the [host] cities and around the country in general, as well as watch the matches played by their favourite teams at the stadiums and in the Fan Fest zones. While doing this, our law-abiding citizens and foreign visitors were not hindered in any way by unnecessary obstacles or prohibitions. All security procedures were reliable but did not create undue inconvenience. This is proof of your highly professional and prompt work, including as a team.

I would like to point out that your efforts were inconspicuous, subtle and went unnoticed by the majority of people, which means that you went about your work in a business-like manner, understanding each other and in general acting as a close-knit team of professionals.

This mutual trust and this experience of cooperation and partnership among law enforcement and security services are extremely important today. We face common and shared challenges. These are the fight against international terrorism and extremism, drug trafficking and illegal migration, as well as transnational crime and cybercrimes. It is obvious that only by joining our efforts can we effectively combat the threats facing us today, as effectively as you worked in this period during your joint operations. It is certainly a very good example for the future.

I hope that you will carry on your close constructive interaction to protect the safety of our nations and our citizens. Of course, it is also very important to preserve the spirit of mutual trust, which will help up strengthen our partnership in the pursuit of the high and noble common goals.

I want to thanks you for your concerted efforts once again. Thank you for your work and its results. Good luck to all of you, and all the best.