Transcript:

Dmitry Medvedev: Good afternoon colleagues. Greetings to everyone present here and in the regions. Today we are taking part in civil defence drills. Both federal and regional authorities are present here, representatives of the Emergencies Ministry, civil defence organisations and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Our objective is clear: to check government agencies’ ability to work in an emergency situation. The drills are taking place already; they began in every region of our country at 6 a.m. local time. So, they have already finished in several regions. I believe such trainings very useful.

This is the first time we hold such a joint drill in this regime. It will help us review our capabilities and shortcomings, and determine future priorities. The National Crisis Management Centre, where we have gathered today, was set up in 2009 (from time to time we all gather here, especially during emergencies). This is the main centre in the system of such centres that operate in the regions and federal districts. The speed of disseminating information about natural disasters and industrial accidents, the timeliness of delivering public alerts – all this depends on the coordinated efforts in the work of these centres. The speed of decision-making is a vital factor in any emergency or crisis. Quick decisions improve our chances of turning the situation around and help people in distress…

More to be posted soon...