Russia: Putin rules out 'some kind of arms race' at defence meeting in Sochi

Russian President Vladimir Putin ruled out getting "involved in some kind of arms race," during an address at a gathering of officials in Sochi on Wednesday. He made the remarks during a biannual meeting of defence officials, parliamentarians and representatives of the arms industry. The Russian leader emphasised that the country must "offset what we lost at the turn of the 1990s and 2000s, when the Armed Forces and the defence industry were underfunded." "The creation of a modern army, equipped with the latest weapons and military equipment, remains one of the priorities of military procurement," he stated. Putin remarked that the current programme "was planned 10 years ago," adding that "this is not some urgent, unscheduled work." He praised how "military companies and the Ministry of Defence have kept pace" with demand for new weaponry. He also stated that "in 2015 [so far], the army received 25 percent more new and modernized pieces of armaments than in 2014." He concluded by saying "it is important that modern weapons are intensively used, and the efficiency and quality of combat training is increased which was confirmed during [recent] drills."