This is said in the communique of the Press and Information Board of the Russian Foreign Ministry on results of the Minsk high-level Summary Meeting on fulfilling the decisions of the 1996 Geneva conference on the
problems of refugees and displaced persons, other forms of non-voluntary movements and returnees in countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and neighbouring states under the aegis of the office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, International Migration Organisation, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Council of Europe.
"The Russian delegation made up of representatives of the Foreign Ministry and the Federal Migration Service focused attention on our poignant problems of combating illegal migration, strengthening the migration control system and enhancing the reliability of protection of the state borders", the communique reads.
"Special attention was given to the position of our compatriots abroad (particularly in the Baltic countries, where much of the Russian-speaking population remaining in these countries after the break-up of the USSR still have no citizenship and are subject to different forms of discrimination). The need was stressed to take steps towards removing the reasons for forced movements of the population, particularly, resolving the problem of non-citizenship and liquidation of other forms of discrimination", the Foreign Ministry communique notes.
It says that at the meeting they summed up results of the 10-year conference process and outlined prospects for further cooperation between the CIS countries, donor countries, international and non-governmental organisations regarding migration.
"In the general opinion of participants, many problems of migration, typical of the first half of the 1990s, have either been resolved or acquired other parameters. It was noted that in the forefront now are new goals - combating illegal migration, human trade and illegal conveyance of migrants, streamlining labour migration, arranging boundary cooperation with the expanded European Union", the ministerial communique reads.
The Press and Information Board also said that participants in the Summary Meeting have reaffirmed the desire to complete the conference process in 2005.
"In view of the need to continue interaction in the field of migration at the regional and subregional levels, the sides have agreed to pass in the future to more flexible forms of dialogue in the format of working groups and informal meetings on the pressing thematic directions", the communique reads.
