Medvedev Urges International Push To Fight Terrorism

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (right) talks to Prosecutor General Yury Chaika during a special meeting at the presidential residence at Gorky on January 24.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said the attackers behind the deadly Moscow airport blast wanted to bring Russia "to its knees" and thwart his bid to court foreign investment.

Medvedev made the statement in his keynote speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos in the Swiss Alps.

"By targeting citizens of many countries the perpetrators of this evil act wanted to bring Russia on its knees," Medvedev said.

Medvedev however told government and corporate leaders at the forum in Davos that the attack "only strengthens our resolve to find an effective international protection against terror."

The bombing on January 24 killed 35 people at Moscow's biggest airport. The attack forced Medvedev to delay his arrival in Davos and shorten his stay.

Earlier today, Medvedev dismissed the chief of the Interior Ministry transport department for the Central Federal District, Andrei Alekseyev, over the attack.

Russia's interior minister, Rashid Nurgaliyev, said the head of the airport police station and his two deputies had also been dismissed because of the bombing.

Russia holds a day of mourning for the victims of the attack, which killed 35 people and injured more than 100 at the country's busiest airport.

The authorities said that all the victims had been identified, but the identity of the suspected suicide bomber remains unknown.

compiled from agency reports