The unity of its peoples is a fundamental condition for the preservation of Russia, its sovereignty, and its territorial integrity, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the Council for Interethnic Relations.

"The unity of the peoples of the Russian Federation is the primary, principal, and fundamental condition for preserving our sovereignty and territorial integrity - and, by extension, for preserving Russia itself," he said. Putin urged the participants to never lose sight of this in the course of their everyday work.