Opening Remarks at the Meeting with the Armed Forces Senior Command.
November 20, 2007
Defence Ministry, Moscow
Вступительное слово на совещании с руководящим составом Вооруженных Сил.
20 ноября 2007 года
Москва, Министерство обороны.
PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: Comrade generals, admirals, officers, We are here at this annual meeting in the Defence Ministry to sum up the results of work over this last period and outline measures for the Armed Forces ongoing modernisation. I would like to say from the outset that we have achieved some good results and that genuinely new steps have been taken in a number of areas. Our strategic aviation has resumed regular patrols and military exercises have resulted in improvements to the way we use our army and naval groups in different areas. Operational and military preparedness training has been carried out more intensively. Our cooperation with our allies, above all through the Collective Security Treaty Organisation and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, has developed at a good pace. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation showed its growing defence potential in action at the exercises at Chebarkul test ground in August this year. But these good results do not exempt us from the need to continue our work on all the main areas of military development. As you know, the situation remains unstable in a number of regions around the world. Terrorist and extremist groups continue to pose a serious threat, as do hot spots located close to Russias borders. We see that some members of the NATO alliance are building up their military potential close to our borders in violation of previous agreements. At the same time, Russian proposals, for example, the proposal to develop a common missile defence system, which, I especially want to stress, would give all participants an equal part in its command, are left, unfortunately, without response. Of course, we cannot remain indifferent to what is a clear case of muscle-flexing. This situation obliges us to take adequate measures, one of which is the Russian Federations decision to suspend its participation in the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe. I stress that this is a necessary measure we have been obliged to take. We will take no unilateral action. Our partners in this treaty have not ratified the treatys adapted version, and some countries have not even signed it yet. A fine picture it makes: how many years are we to continue unilaterally fulfilling our treaty commitments while others watch on? As soon as our partners ratify the adapted version of the treaty Russia will review the possibility of resuming compliance with its commitments. But we cannot simply continue the current situation forever. We cannot wait who knows how long. We realise that individual decisions, even very important decisions, are not enough on their own to ensure the all-round modernisation of our countrys defence potential and ensure the Russian Federations security. Armed Forces that are mobile and equipped with the very latest equipment and technology remain the main guarantee of our countrys security. Only truly professional and modern Armed Forces can give our country reliable security guarantees and defend it from potential threats.
Increasing the combat readiness of our strategic nuclear forces is one of our biggest tasks. These forces must be able to deliver a rapid and adequate response to any aggressor. The general purpose forces, for their part, have the mission of looking for new ways to neutralise security threats to our country at an early stage.We need to continue work on modernising the army and navys equipment. As you know, the state arms procurement programme through to 2015 allocates considerable funds for this work. The emphasis will be on a new and effective arms and equipment system. Planned work to bolster the Armed Forces human resources potential is another key area. Success in this work depends a lot on modernisation of the military education system. We need to optimise the network of military academies and establish important research and teaching centres. It is our duty to preserve the best traditions of our countrys military training system while at the same time drawing on the best in other countries military training experience. I note too that military education reform programme should be coordinated with the national project in the education sector. This will enable us to supply the Armed Forces with new highly professional personnel and raise the competitiveness of military research and our military academies overall.
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В.Путин.Выступление на форуме.21.11.07.Part 1by niknikolay521 views
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