Bortnikov: around 1700 Russian citizens fight alongside militants in Iraq

Around 1700 Russian citizens are fighting alongside militants in Iraq, the Russian Federal Security Service Director, Alexander Bortnikov, said during his working visit to the US. 

Bortnikov, who took part in a summit in Washington on countering violent extremism, said the number of Russians among militants in Iraq has almost doubled compared with last year. The FSB chief stressed that he is concerned by rising recruitment numbers and the prospects of those militants eventually returning to Russia.

Bortnikov said tough measures with impact are certainly needed, while stating that the government has to learn how to influence this process and force people to abandon their plans. 

"It's a mutual process, and you need to be selective," TASS cited him as saying."On the one hand, of course, we need tough sanctions. On the other hand, we need to learn to influence this process: understanding the processes and motives, to convince people to abandon their intention. "We need a dialogue," the head of the FSB said.