One of the central questions concerned combating international terrorism and the Russian President’s opinion of the current situation in the world. To start with, Mr Putin said he did not think it just to blame the United States for the tragedy. The security system did not envisage such threats as that of September 11, he said. He called the world to work for their prevention. The global situation did not change with the terrorist attacks. It had changed long before, and the American tragedy made the change visible.
As Mr Putin said, the issue was to appear on the agenda of his meetings with US President George W. Bush in Shanghai in October, and during his visit to the United States, as well as in his meetings with the European Union leadership and NATO Headquarters officers in Brussels.
As Mr Putin said, Russia was tackling such problems on a regional level, in particular, within the framework of the recently established CIS Anti-Terrorist Centre.
Journalists also asked about Russian assistance to settle the Karabakh issue, and about a number of industrial companies or their stock to be ceded to Russia as Armenian debt payment.