Viktor Ozerov, the chairman of the Federation Council's defense and security committee, said an ad hoc commission of the Federation Council on the situation in the North Caucasus had discussed the mountainous republic of Daghestan.
"The Russian Interior Ministry believes the situation in Daghestan is tense," the senator said.
The Interior Ministry says the number of police in Daghestan should be increased, better equipped and be entitled to improved welfare benefits.
"But we believe that to improve the situation in the republic, there is a need not just for better policing but also for social and economic measures," Ozerov said, before adding that the current situation was largely due to economic problems.
He said the government had decided to obtain more information from the relevant ministries on the situation in the republic, to analyze the situation in detail, and to continue to discuss the issue with the Russian presidential envoy to the Southern Federal District, Dmitry Kozak.
Musa Umarov, a commission member and a representative of the State Council of Chechnya in the Federation Council, told RIA Novosti that consistent and thorough educational and explanatory work was needed to resolve the problems in Daghestan. "The situation in Daghestan and the North Caucasus as a whole is not easy and requires delicate handling," Umarov said.
The senator added, "Unemployment is the reason for what is happening in the republic."
He said that the Defense Ministry was strengthening its forces in the region, especially in the mountainous areas of Daghestan.
