SOCHI, November 26. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that Russia is not a threat to any other country and is determined to stay out of any geopolitical intrigues.
“We are not threatening anyone and are not going to get involved in any geopolitical gambling or intrigues, let alone conflicts, however strongly some may wish to pull us into them,” Putin said at a conference devoted to the development of the armed forces.
He pointed to the need for maintaining reliable protection of the sovereignty of Russia and its allies.
“I would like to draw special attention to the need for a comprehensive approach and to pooling efforts by all bodies of state power to addressing national defense issues,” Putin said.
He recalled that over the past year Russia had established an integral system of military planning and specified approaches to managing the military machinery. In January 2013 Russia’s defense plan was approved.
Earlier this week Putin held a meeting with Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov, and also commanders of the arms and services. The issues discussed included the formation of a group of troops in Crimea and a new allied strategic command in the Arctic zone on the basis of the Northern Fleet as of December 1.
Putin recalled that the conference was yet another in a series of such consultations on the development of the defence-industrial complex he held approximately twice a year.
“We shall discuss in detail a variety of aspects - from strategic planning to current combat training. The results of implementing the state program for armaments will be touched upon separately,” he said.
Putin recalled that on the basis of the previous meetings a whole range of conceptual documents had been drafted to identify the armed forces’ guidelines and image for ten to fifteen years to come.