He said the nation needed a new National Security Concept not because the previous one was bad, but because the challenges Russia as well as the entire world has to face change too fast.
The priority of threats to address has changed, he noted.
According to the Secretary of Russia's Security Council, the Concept should be adapted to new conditions "openly, especially at the first stage."
When asked whether the Security Council has an authority to supervise law enforcement, Mr. Ivanov said that the Security Council works as a think tank.
"Our recommendations must represent analysis rather than supervision," he said.
At the same time, he dismissed the idea of setting up a Russian agency similar to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
"This is virtually impossible in our environment," he said and added that setting up such a super-ministry would cost billions of dollars.
Mr. Ivanov said the problem that emerged in the wake of the Beslan tragedy could hardly have been solved by sacking public servants.
"The [relatives of the victims] would hardly feel better if two or three [public servants] were sacked or forced to resign," Mr. Ivanov said.
He underscored that sacking whoever deemed to be the one to blame for something that went wrong is "the simplest way," while to prevent such occasions in the future is much more difficult.
"We ought to unite to seek for a solution," he emphasized.
As to the relations between Russia and Georgia, Secretary of Russia's Security Council said he saw no alternative to friendship between the two countries.
"Today we look at one's deeds to see who is our friend or foe," he said. For example, in fighting terrorism Russia can rely on "an overwhelming majority" of countries, he went on.
When asked whether Georgia as fiend or foe, he said, "Friend, to my mind."
"History can not be overwhelmed by one or two politicians' statements," he added.
Mr. Ivanov said he hoped two Russian security services agents convicted in Qatar would soon come to their homeland.
In the early hours of February 19, 2004 the security services of the State of Qatar arrested three Russian citizens who were in the country on mission and accused them of having murdered Chechen militants' envoy Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev killed on February 13 in a car bombing.
Later one of the three detainees was freed due to his diplomatic immunity. He returned home in March.
On June 30 the Court of Qatar sentenced the other two Russians to life imprisonment and overruled the appeal of the defense on July 29.
At that point the Russian Foreign Ministry committed itself to further action on having the Russian citizens returned to Russia. Mr. Ivanov himself went to Qatar two times as the Russians had been under arrest.
