Russian President Vladimir Putin (C), flanked by Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov (L) makes a working visit to Dagestan July 15, 2005.  (Xinhua/AFP photo)

Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) inspecting a military facility near Russia's southern border July 15, 2005. (Xinhua/AFP photo)

    MOSCOW, July 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that all government departments should cooperate very closely and take effective measures to secure Russia's southern borders, local reports said.

    Putin made the remarks when inspecting a military facility near Russia's southern border. He said the North Caucasus and southern region of Russia carried out a lot of measures to fight organized crime and terrorist activities, but the situation there is still very complicated as social and economic problems still remain.

    Putin stressed that the southern borders should be under effective protection as Russia is shouldering international obligations including anti-terrorism.

    He said Russia must build up modernized and reliable defense lines in its border areas to guarantee the national security while providing convenience to the citizens.

    He said the deployment of several mountain brigades with advanced equipment should be carried out as soon as possible.

    The deployment of mountain brigades should be in accordance with the development of local infrastructure and economy, he added.

    Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said the government has granted 12.8 billion rubles( about 447.5 million US dollars) to form and deploy mountain brigades by the end of 2007.

    The mountain brigades would be equipped with new helicopters and formed by professional volunteer soldiers trained in mountaineering, reports said. Enditem