Putin vows to ensure security in North Caucasus

Russian President Vladimir Putin Sunday called on police to maintain stability in the country's volatile North Caucasus region.

"Stability in the region is not easy to restore...We pay a high price for that, but we have no other way," Putin said during a ceremony dedicated to Russia's Police Day on Sunday.

Putin urged police officers to "raise a solid barrier" to extremists and radicals who are trying to destabilize the situation and split the society, RIA Novosti news agency quoted him as saying.

Meanwhile, the president called on the police to rein in all forms of xenophobia, nationalism and religious enmity and deal toughly with the so-called ethnic criminal groups linked to terrorists and organizers of illegal migration.

The North Caucasus has witnessed chronic tensions in recent decades, with frequent terror attacks against government facilities and officials.

Last month, a female suicide bomber attacked a bus in the southern Russian city of Volgograd, killing seven people and injuring more. The bomber was believed to be the wife of a Dagestani gang member.

In September, Putin warned that the situation in the North Caucasus remained a challenge for state security. He urged all law enforcement structures to be mobilized to maintain law, order and peace in that region.