BOCHAROV RUCHEI (Southern Russia), July 14 (RIA Novosti) - Ingush President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, who was badly injured in a recent assassination attempt, "is recovering," the republic's prime minister said on Tuesday.
Yevkurov received serious head and internal injuries when a car bomb exploded as his motorcade passed by on June 22, and underwent a series of operations at a top Moscow clinic.
"The Ingush president's condition is improving," Rashid Gaisanov, who has been appointed the republic's acting president, told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Medvedev expressed hope that Yevkurov would make a full recovery soon, but added that the Ingush president's absence should not affect the situation in the republic.
"I hope medical treatment is bringing positive results, and he [Yevkurov] is getting better," the Russian president said. "But people cannot wait for the president to recover, and effective government [in the republic] must continue."
In response, Gaisanov said Ingush law enforcement had achieved significant progress in the fight against militants and crime in the republic. He also said the current situation "is under control."
"All the republic's authorities, the government, and the legislative power are working as usual, carrying out their duties," he said. "There is no power vaccum."
The Russian president agreed that Ingush authorities had made a strong effort to stabilize the situation in the republic, but urged them to intensify security efforts.
"You must put even more effort into this fight," Medvedev said.
Russia's mainly Muslim North Caucasus regions have seen a rise in violence in recent months. Attacks on police, officials and troops have been reported almost daily in Chechnya, Ingushetia and Daghestan.
