MOSCOW, April 10 (RIA Novosti) - The lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, on Wednesday passed in a first reading a presidential bill that would allow the Federal Security Service (FSB) to dispatch its officers abroad on a permanent basis.
The bill enabling the FSB to send its advisors and specialists to foreign states for long-term assignments, subject to approval from the host nation, was submitted to the State Duma by President Vladimir Putin on March 2.
The FSB, the successor to the Soviet-era KGB, has signed cooperation agreements with the security services and law enforcement agencies in Kyrgyzstan, according to a memo to the bill posted on the Russian presidential website kremlin.ru. It has also signed agreements with the disputed territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which most world governments consider to be part of Georgia’s territory but whose independence Russia recognized after a brief war between Georgia and Russia in August 2008.
FSB officers are currently dispatched abroad for up to six months to provide assistance to security services in other states. The frequent rotation of personnel is not conducive to an effective struggle against “international crimes,” the memo says.
