Putin: Russia Doesn’t Want To Enter Arms Race

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s military modernization program doesn’t mean that the nation intends to engage in an arms race, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.

 

Speaking during a meeting with the top military officers and arms industries officials, Putin said that the ongoing military upgrade is a compensation for the years of insufficient funding that followed the Soviet collapse.

 

He added that “we have no intention to pull into some arms race, let alone try to catch up with or overtake somebody.”

 

Putin said that while the Russian defense industries have succeeded in increasing output, some production targets haven’t been met. He also emphasized the need to continue efforts to replace imported weapons components with locally-produced ones.

 

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