Russia: Putin discusses Russia's arms trade stategies

Vladimir Putin urged the expansion of military and technical cooperation to meet the modern requirements of the quickly changing international arms market, at a meeting of the Commission for Military and Technical Cooperation, in Moscow, Monday. Putin stated that Russia should prioritise developing military and technical contacts with all allies and strategic partners of Russia and consistently implementing import substitution programmes in the defence sector, using "completely new, modern and promising technological base." Putin also discussed the aggressive use of non-market means of competition, applied by other countries against Russia, in the arms trade. Putin cited an example of Ukraine, where "the rupture of long-standing cooperation ties with Russia, vitally important for Ukrainian defence enterprises, has pushed many of them to the brink of bankruptcy and compelled them to reduce skilled personnel." Putin stated that Russia maintained its position as the number two arms supplier in the world, with $15.5 billion (€14.1 billion) worth of military products exported in 2014. Putin stated that the Russian Federation defence industry has a portfolio of orders worth $50 billion (€45.5 billion) and cooperates with 91 states all around the world.