Russia needs strong authority to guarantee its sovereignty, security and defense, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview the US Time magazine published Wednesday.

"The authority in Russia should be strong enough to ensure sovereignty, security and defense," Putin said. "It should be strong enough to ensure territorial integrity of the country."

"At the same time, it must be responsive to regional and municipal sensitivities, and to sensitivities of citizens," he said.

"The people by direct secret vote elect their deputies who elect a governor as proposed by the President," Putin said. "Thus we achieve a situation where a leader of a region is directly tied to the general interests of the nation and should be sensitive to regional issues."

"Our mode of developing the authorities in the region is much more advanced than in other countries," Putin said.

(Xinhua News Agency December 20, 2007)