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Russia to secure defense capability in new circumstances — defense minister

"The task set by the head of state to prevent military domination over Russia will surely be fulfilled," Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said

MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/. Russia is reinforcing its military forces in all strategic directions due to the military and political situation, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at the Defense Ministry’s board meeting on Friday.

Citing commander-in-chief and head of state Vladimir Putin's address to the nation in December, Shoigu noted that Russia did not plan to engage in a costly arms race but would secure defense capability in what was a markedly new environment.

"The task set by the head of state to prevent military domination over Russia will surely be fulfilled," the minister promised.

"To these ends, main effort should be focused on a higher quality of strategic nuclear forces, on reinforcing the military staff and capabilities of the army and the fleet, and on forming Aerospace Forces, a new arm of military force," Shoigu said. "Figures indicating military forces’ equipping with modern weapons and hardware were specified, the pace of building military townships and military facilities was adjusted," he noted.

"For this, the state armament program is planned to implement fully and attain parameters set for modern weapons and military hardware by from 70% to 100% by 2020," he added. For this purpose some measures will be taken "to finalise quicker priority design works and give up research on trends which ceased to be topical," the minister said.

For his part, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said at the ministry’s board meeting that Russia would give a response with its army and navy to be equipped by new weapons capable to ward off missile defense potential in retaliation to a bid to expand the US missile defense system which breaches the treaties on shorter-and medium-range missiles.

The leadership of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) assembling Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan also announced in the Russian capital Friday about plans to build up organization’s military potential. An assault against a CSTO state is taken as an act of aggression against all signatory nations. Weapons worth $650 million were purchased at "preferential prices", CSTO General-Secretary Nikolai Bordyuzha told media. The CSTO states have increased tenfold a package of orders placed within military-technical partnership for the last eight years.