Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. 

It is a great honour and pleasure for me to welcome the participants in the 77th Interpol General Assembly here in Russia, in St Petersburg.

I would like to begin by congratulating you on the 85th anniversary of your organisation. In the past decades, it has earned a good reputation. The word "Interpol" is known all over the world, and enjoys well-deserved respect.

Today, Interpol has a broad network of offices, a well-developed legislative foundation, and advanced technical equipment. Owing to these unique opportunities, it uncovers major dangerous crimes, deals heavy blows at criminal structures, including cross-border ones. Every year, it detains up to 7,000 criminals.

Every day, you coordinate the operation of the international police community, and help security-related services and law-enforcement agencies of different countries to find a common language.

Interpol unites 186 states. I have just been told that the Vatican has been accepted, so this number is now 187. In this context, I would like to congratulate representatives of the Vatican.

The Russian national office cooperates practically with all Interpol's members. We are going to continue developing such contacts, and actively support international initiatives in Interpol. In particular, I am referring to projects aimed at introducing modern information technologies, forming databases, and training personnel.

I would like to note that an Interpol-supervised training centre is already operating in Russia. In the near future, it is going to receive international status.

In 15 years, the Russian Interpol office has tripled its document turnover, and professionals know that this is a telltale sign. We are seeing practical results from cooperation with Interpol. In the last 10 years, more than 350 people have been extradited to Russia. The Russian law-enforcement agencies do not only formally cooperate with their colleagues. They are working as if they belong to the same corporation. In 2007 alone, 20 people were detained in Russia, and extradited to other countries.

As I have already mentioned, Russia cooperates with all Interpol members. Our most active foreign partners are Germany, the United States, Lithuania, Belgium, Poland, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic. The scale of cooperation with them is rather large. Our striving for close cooperation fully meets our position of principle. Russia has been consistently advocating the consolidation of the world community's efforts in countering common challenges and threats to our states and their citizens.

Only together can we withstand international terrorism and drug trafficking, create an obstacle to financial fraud and cyber crime, and put an end to trade in people, which is a disgrace for the 21st century.

These are Interpol's priorities. We believe that to cope with them, all Interpol members should pool their efforts, share positions, and prevent the practice of double standards. Only in this case the criminals, including those who stage bloody acts of terror, will be faced with inevitable retribution.

We intend to make broad use of the opportunities of international cooperation in the struggle against corruption. It is an acute problem for many countries. It should be resolved not only at national level but also by consolidating the international legal foundation, and shutting down channels of laundering criminal proceeds.

Interpol's operation has always rested on traditions of professional solidarity and partners' mutual assistance. I am convinced that they will continue helping you in your noble mission, the main goal of which is to counter evil, protect human rights and interests, and consolidate the power of the law.

I would like to wish you constructive work. I hope that you will avail of this opportunity to see St Petersburg, the beautiful city which is hosting this event.

Many thanks for your attention.

Vladimir Putin's closing remarks at Interpol's 77th General Assembly

Ladies and gentlemen,

Globalisation is increasingly affecting politics and the economy. We all know this well. Crime is also becoming global. It is abundantly clear that it is impossible to counter it effectively without such universal organisations as Interpol.

We are very impressed by the de-politicisation of your organisation and your professional approach to resolving problems. It goes without saying that we will give Interpol every support.

However, I would like to mention something different. I was surprised to hear the Secretary General's reference to "Anna Karenina" by our outstanding compatriot Leo Tolstoy. Despite all the tragedy of this story, it is still a story of love.

It seems to me that it would be more appropriate to mention to such serious audience a book by our other classic, "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It is really a manual of how advanced professionals should work. The author not only reveals the soul of the criminal, but also shows the intricate psychological struggle between him and the investigator.

Later it occurred to me that to make sure that no crime goes unpunished it is necessary not merely to love one's profession but also to love the people for whom you work, and to the defence of whose interests you have devoted your life.

Many thanks. I wish you success. Thank you for your attention.