MOSCOW, June 27 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin called on diplomats Tuesday to make it easier for would-be immigrants to come to Russia as one way of dealing with the country's demographic crisis.
In May, Putin called the decline in Russia's population - which he said was falling by 700,000 people a year - the country's biggest problem. He said a sensible migration policy could help solve the problem.
And the president said today that the Foreign Ministry should work more proactively with Russians living abroad.
"This work is important for a broader state migration policy," he said. "It must be an effective tool in overcoming Russia's demographic problems."
Addressing diplomats in the Foreign Ministry, he said he was surprised with complaints made by Russians living overseas about citizenship issues and other immigration questions.
"This is strange since Russia needs an inflow of immigrants," the president said.
He added that Russians resident in other countries did not encounter assimilation problems. "We speak the same language and are of the same culture," he said.
Putin said that Russia was preparing for an international congress of compatriots and ordered the ministry to draft an agenda.
He said the main aim of the congress would be to take work with Russians living overseas to a new level.
