Moscow-Sana
Russian President Vladimir Putin has assured that his country will not participate in a new arms race, but it will guarantee its security.
"The arms race has begun, but we will not get carried away ... the Americans have high-precision weapons and do not have hypersonic weapons yet ... and it is clear of course that they will manufacture them, but as I said, we will be ready by that time," Putin said in his annual press conference today.
In response to the US deployment of a global missile defense system, Putin made it clear that Russia could either build its own weapons or manufacture superior ones, pointing to the creation of a heavy ICBM that is nearing its final stage.
The Russian president pointed out that Russia was forced to respond by producing new types of weapons to the new threats that appeared after the collapse of the Soviet Union, stressing that it was the United States, not Russia, that withdrew from the Treaty of Short and Medium-Range Missiles and the Treaty of Open Skies.
On the other hand, the Russian President stressed that there is nothing hindering Russia from producing a vaccine against the Corona virus in centers in foreign countries, and this will not affect the vaccination of the population inside the country.
Putin indicated that 4.6 trillion rubles (about 63 billion dollars) have been allocated to support citizens and companies in light of the emerging Corona virus crisis that has struck the global economy.
To that, Putin pointed out that his country has begun to diversify its economy and depend on non-oil and gas revenues.
The Russian president said that "Russia is not a fuel station for the world and has begun to get rid of the addiction to oil and gas revenues."
Regarding candidacy for the presidential elections in 2024, Putin announced that he had not made a decision yet, and said, "I have not made a decision for myself after I run or not in the elections. Officially I have permission from the people to do or not to see."
