Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has called on non-governmental organizations to join efforts to halt the exodus of ethnic Russians from the turbulent North Caucasus region.
"One problem is the distrust which faces Caucasus migrants in other Russian regions...But there is another problem - the exodus of Russians from the North Caucasus republics," Medvedev told a presidential council on developing civil society.
Medvedev said the decrease of the ethnic Russian population in the North Caucasus region is "a serious problem which hampers its full-scale economic development."
The president also called for measures to combat the growing number of attacks on people perceived as coming from the North Caucasus in the aftermath of recent deadly metro bombings in Moscow.
MOSCOW, May 19 (RIA Novosti)
