Moscow, Dec 21 (IANS): Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday demanded the country's intelligence agencies better safeguard national security.

Putin visited the headquarters of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) in Moscow, laid flowers at the monument erected to mark the 100th anniversary of the SVR, and congratulated the staff and veterans of all special services on the country's Security Agency Worker's Day, the Xinhua news agency reported.

"I hope that the SVR will continue to respond flexibly to the high dynamics of changes in the international situation and actively participate in identifying and neutralising potential threats to Russia," he said in his speech.

Putin said it is unquestionable that the work of the security agencies, in accordance with the law and in line with national interests, has been and will be "extremely important" for Russia.

He said Russia has established a powerful nationwide system for combating terrorism, which has significantly reduced the number of terrorist crimes in the country.

"The most serious attention should be paid to information security, the fight against extremism and corruption, and crimes in the economic sphere," the President said.

Putin also asked the special services to protect Russian state borders more effectively, given the risks of "smoldering" regional conflicts nearby.