Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations
Vladimir Putin boasted of developing new nuclear weapons to strengthen Russia’s military power today and warned the United States not to ignore Moscow's objections to a planned missile defence shield in Europe. President Putin pledged to counter the shield unless the US and Europe took account of Russia's concerns. He also called on the US to set a date for withdrawal of troops from Iraq, adding that the 2003 invasion had been an attempt to secure control of its oil reserves. In a live televised question-and-answer programme with members of the public, Mr Putin made clear that he was determined to restore Russia’s military prestige by using the vast income from its own oil and gas resources. He said that Russia had a “grandiose” plan to strengthen the armed forces after years of decline following the collapse of the Soviet Union. "We will develop missile technology including completely new strategic (nuclear) complexes, completely new. Work is continuing and continuing successfully," Mr Putin said. He gave no details about the new nuclear weapon, but went on: "We have plans that are not only big, but grandiose, and they are fully realistic. Our armed forces will be more compact but more effective and better ensure Russia defence.”
Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle2687252.ece
President Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday that Russia would defend its vast natural resources in Siberia, saying Russia was 'not Iraq' and would not allow outsiders to gain control of its resources. "Thank God Russia is not Iraq. Russia has the strength and the means to defend itself," Putin said during a live television question-and-answer session with Russians from around the country. He dismissed talk of any outside country getting direct control over Russia's abundant natural resources in Siberia and contrasted the situation with that in Iraq. "The best example are the events in Iraq, a country which was challenged in defending itself and which had enormous oil reserves. And everyone has seen what happened there. They learned to shoot at each other. But so far, establishing order has not really worked out." He was responding to a question from a resident of the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, who had asked him to comment on a remark by a former US official suggesting that Russia should share the natural wealth of Siberia. "I know you are worried about this,' Putin said. 'I know that these kinds of ideas are circulating in the minds of some politicians,' he added, without elaborating. Putin said Russia was working on strengthening and modernising its army and navy as was its 'right' and added that 'we will continue to do this."
Source: http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/...fx4233392.html
Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the U.S.-led war in Iraq on Thursday, saying that experience showed the need for resource-rich countries like Russia to build up their armed forces to defend themselves. "Thank God Russia is not Iraq," Putin said during a live televised national question-and-answer session. "It is strong enough to protect its interests within the national territory and, by the way, in other regions of the world." Answering a questioner who asked about supposed U.S. intentions to gain control over Russia's huge, resource-rich interior, Putin said: "I know that such ideas are brewing in the heads of some politicians. I think it is a sort of political eroticism which maybe gives someone pleasure but will hardly lead anywhere and the best example of that is Iraq." "... What we are doing to increase our defense capability is the correct choice and we will continue to do that," Putin added. Putin, who faces parliamentary elections in December, hailed Russia's continued strong economic growth and rising living standards during exchanges with questioners connected live from different Russian cities. He admitted that inflation, which at 8.5 percent in the year to date has already exceeded the government's target for the whole year, was a problem but blamed global economic factors such as cuts in European agricultural subsidies and demand for biofuels. Putin also claimed that Russia's demographic crisis was easing, with the birthrate reaching a 15-year high and the death rate falling to its lowest level since 1999.
Source: http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/new...-PUTIN-COL.XML
Russia will develop strategic and conventional weapons in a bid to strengthen the country's defense, President Vladimir Putin said at an annual live question-and-answer TV and radio program Thursday. "We will attach significance not only to the nuclear triad – I mean the Strategic Rocket Forces, strategic aviation, and nuclear submarine fleet -- but also other types of weapons," Putin said in reply to a question by a serviceman from the Plesetsk military space center. Russia is pursuing a government armament program designed for the period up to 2015, which envisions the development of all types and services of the armed forces, he said. "Our plans are not simply considerable, but huge. At the same time, they are absolutely realistic... Our armed forces will be compact and very efficient, and they will reliably guarantee this country's security for years to come," Putin said. The Russian Air Force has started to receive the advanced Sukhoi Su-34 fighters and the new generation of fighters will be built by 2012-2015, Putin said, adding that Ground Forces have started to be armed with Iskander-M missile systems. Another strategic submarine will also be built next year, said the president.
Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_6903512.htm
President Vladimir Putin said Russia has "grandiose plans'' to continue the country's largest military build-up since the end of the Cold War. "We have plans, not simply big, but grandiose plans,'' Putin said today in his annual call-in television program with Russians spread across 11 time zones. "And they are completely realizable.'' Putin was responding to a question from soldiers stationed at a military base in Plesetk, site of a successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile earlier today. Russia, the world's biggest energy supplier, last year earmarked 6 trillion rubles ($240 billion) for military spending through 2015 as Putin uses revenue from high commodity prices to restore the country's might. The military struggled after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 as funding dried up and morale was sapped by incidents such as failed missile tests and the sinking of the Kursk submarine. The military last month tested the world's most powerful air-delivered vacuum bomb and today the Strategic Missile Forces said an RC-12M Topol missile traveled 5,500 kilometers (3,400 miles) to hit its designated target on the Kamchatka Peninsula near the Pacific Ocean. Putin said Russia is "successfully'' enhancing its nuclear arsenal, including the highly maneuverable, multiheaded Topol-M. ``Completely new'' systems are being developed, Putin said, without elaborating. The Navy will start construction of a new class of nuclear submarine next year, strategic bombers are being modernized and ``a new generation warplane'' will be ready by 2015, Putin said. "Russia, thank God, is not Iraq, and Russia has enough forces and funds to defend itself and its interests both on its own territory and in other parts of the world,'' Putin said.
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p....NI&refer=home
Russia will build up its presence in the strategic areas of the world, including the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, navy commander Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky said on Sunday. "We'll do all we can to build up our presence where Russia has strategic interests," RIA news agency quoted the senior officer assaying at the Northern Fleet's base Severomorsk, in the Arctic Circle. "What is important is that we have appeared (in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean) at a scheduled time and not just that we appeared there," he said while commenting a joint Air Force and Navy exercise in the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic. The 12-day war game and two-month maneuver was the first large-scale Russian navy exercise in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean in 15 years. Russia's naval task force in the drill comprised the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, the Udaloy-Class destroyers Admiral Levchenko and Admiral Chabanenko, as well as support vessels. The flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, the Moskva cruiser, joined up with the other warships in the Mediterranean on Jan. 18 to participate in the maneuvers in the Atlantic that ended on Saturday. Russia will carry out similar missions once every six months, Vysotsky said.
Source http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_7562444.htm[/QUOTE]
Putin says Russia to get new nuclear weapons
Vladimir Putin boasted of developing new nuclear weapons to strengthen Russia’s military power today and warned the United States not to ignore Moscow's objections to a planned missile defence shield in Europe. President Putin pledged to counter the shield unless the US and Europe took account of Russia's concerns. He also called on the US to set a date for withdrawal of troops from Iraq, adding that the 2003 invasion had been an attempt to secure control of its oil reserves. In a live televised question-and-answer programme with members of the public, Mr Putin made clear that he was determined to restore Russia’s military prestige by using the vast income from its own oil and gas resources. He said that Russia had a “grandiose” plan to strengthen the armed forces after years of decline following the collapse of the Soviet Union. "We will develop missile technology including completely new strategic (nuclear) complexes, completely new. Work is continuing and continuing successfully," Mr Putin said. He gave no details about the new nuclear weapon, but went on: "We have plans that are not only big, but grandiose, and they are fully realistic. Our armed forces will be more compact but more effective and better ensure Russia defence.”
Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle2687252.ece
Putin says Russia will defend natural resources in Siberia
President Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday that Russia would defend its vast natural resources in Siberia, saying Russia was 'not Iraq' and would not allow outsiders to gain control of its resources. "Thank God Russia is not Iraq. Russia has the strength and the means to defend itself," Putin said during a live television question-and-answer session with Russians from around the country. He dismissed talk of any outside country getting direct control over Russia's abundant natural resources in Siberia and contrasted the situation with that in Iraq. "The best example are the events in Iraq, a country which was challenged in defending itself and which had enormous oil reserves. And everyone has seen what happened there. They learned to shoot at each other. But so far, establishing order has not really worked out." He was responding to a question from a resident of the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, who had asked him to comment on a remark by a former US official suggesting that Russia should share the natural wealth of Siberia. "I know you are worried about this,' Putin said. 'I know that these kinds of ideas are circulating in the minds of some politicians,' he added, without elaborating. Putin said Russia was working on strengthening and modernising its army and navy as was its 'right' and added that 'we will continue to do this."
Source: http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/...fx4233392.html
Putin says Iraq shows need for strong Russia army
Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the U.S.-led war in Iraq on Thursday, saying that experience showed the need for resource-rich countries like Russia to build up their armed forces to defend themselves. "Thank God Russia is not Iraq," Putin said during a live televised national question-and-answer session. "It is strong enough to protect its interests within the national territory and, by the way, in other regions of the world." Answering a questioner who asked about supposed U.S. intentions to gain control over Russia's huge, resource-rich interior, Putin said: "I know that such ideas are brewing in the heads of some politicians. I think it is a sort of political eroticism which maybe gives someone pleasure but will hardly lead anywhere and the best example of that is Iraq." "... What we are doing to increase our defense capability is the correct choice and we will continue to do that," Putin added. Putin, who faces parliamentary elections in December, hailed Russia's continued strong economic growth and rising living standards during exchanges with questioners connected live from different Russian cities. He admitted that inflation, which at 8.5 percent in the year to date has already exceeded the government's target for the whole year, was a problem but blamed global economic factors such as cuts in European agricultural subsidies and demand for biofuels. Putin also claimed that Russia's demographic crisis was easing, with the birthrate reaching a 15-year high and the death rate falling to its lowest level since 1999.
Source: http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/new...-PUTIN-COL.XML
Putin: Russia to develop both strategic and conventional weapons
Russia will develop strategic and conventional weapons in a bid to strengthen the country's defense, President Vladimir Putin said at an annual live question-and-answer TV and radio program Thursday. "We will attach significance not only to the nuclear triad – I mean the Strategic Rocket Forces, strategic aviation, and nuclear submarine fleet -- but also other types of weapons," Putin said in reply to a question by a serviceman from the Plesetsk military space center. Russia is pursuing a government armament program designed for the period up to 2015, which envisions the development of all types and services of the armed forces, he said. "Our plans are not simply considerable, but huge. At the same time, they are absolutely realistic... Our armed forces will be compact and very efficient, and they will reliably guarantee this country's security for years to come," Putin said. The Russian Air Force has started to receive the advanced Sukhoi Su-34 fighters and the new generation of fighters will be built by 2012-2015, Putin said, adding that Ground Forces have started to be armed with Iskander-M missile systems. Another strategic submarine will also be built next year, said the president.
Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_6903512.htm
Putin Says Russia Has `Grandiose Plans' for Military Buildup
President Vladimir Putin said Russia has "grandiose plans'' to continue the country's largest military build-up since the end of the Cold War. "We have plans, not simply big, but grandiose plans,'' Putin said today in his annual call-in television program with Russians spread across 11 time zones. "And they are completely realizable.'' Putin was responding to a question from soldiers stationed at a military base in Plesetk, site of a successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile earlier today. Russia, the world's biggest energy supplier, last year earmarked 6 trillion rubles ($240 billion) for military spending through 2015 as Putin uses revenue from high commodity prices to restore the country's might. The military struggled after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 as funding dried up and morale was sapped by incidents such as failed missile tests and the sinking of the Kursk submarine. The military last month tested the world's most powerful air-delivered vacuum bomb and today the Strategic Missile Forces said an RC-12M Topol missile traveled 5,500 kilometers (3,400 miles) to hit its designated target on the Kamchatka Peninsula near the Pacific Ocean. Putin said Russia is "successfully'' enhancing its nuclear arsenal, including the highly maneuverable, multiheaded Topol-M. ``Completely new'' systems are being developed, Putin said, without elaborating. The Navy will start construction of a new class of nuclear submarine next year, strategic bombers are being modernized and ``a new generation warplane'' will be ready by 2015, Putin said. "Russia, thank God, is not Iraq, and Russia has enough forces and funds to defend itself and its interests both on its own territory and in other parts of the world,'' Putin said.
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p....NI&refer=home
Commander: Russian navy to build up presence in Atlantic, Mediterranean
Russia will build up its presence in the strategic areas of the world, including the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, navy commander Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky said on Sunday. "We'll do all we can to build up our presence where Russia has strategic interests," RIA news agency quoted the senior officer assaying at the Northern Fleet's base Severomorsk, in the Arctic Circle. "What is important is that we have appeared (in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean) at a scheduled time and not just that we appeared there," he said while commenting a joint Air Force and Navy exercise in the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic. The 12-day war game and two-month maneuver was the first large-scale Russian navy exercise in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean in 15 years. Russia's naval task force in the drill comprised the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, the Udaloy-Class destroyers Admiral Levchenko and Admiral Chabanenko, as well as support vessels. The flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, the Moskva cruiser, joined up with the other warships in the Mediterranean on Jan. 18 to participate in the maneuvers in the Atlantic that ended on Saturday. Russia will carry out similar missions once every six months, Vysotsky said.
Source http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_7562444.htm[/QUOTE]
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