Reuters, Moscow :
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would pay proper attention to the development of its army and navy, but it would not be dragged into a new arms race with the United States.
Putin, speaking at a year-end news conference, also said that Russia would not back out of its commitment to concluding a START III Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with the United States, despite what he said was Washington’s wavering on arms control treaties.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia is concerned about the U.S. considering a pullout from key nuclear arms control pacts, adding that Moscow will stick to them.
Speaking at his annual news conference, Putin said that Russia will “ensure its security without entering an arms race.” He said Russia’s military spending next year will amount to 2.8 trillion rubles (about $46 billion) compared to the Pentagon’s budget of about $700 billion.
Putin said that Russia is particularly worried about what he described as perceived U.S. violations of the INF Treaty, a Cold-War era pact banning intermediate range missiles. The U.S. has accused Russia of pact violations – charges that Russia has denied. Putin said the U.S. accusations are part of a “propaganda” campaign to pave the way for the U.S. withdrawal.
Analysts said the event would give a clearer idea of what to expect from Putin ahead of an election in which he is widely expected to extend his rule to 2024, making him the country’s longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin.
“It will be the start of the election campaign: he will have to demonstrate the result of his work and make election promises,” Russian political analyst Konstantin Kalachev told AFP.
According to a survey published by independent pollster Levada on Wednesday, 75 percent of Russians would be prepared to vote for Putin in March, despite having yet to hear any campaign pledges since he announced his candidacy last week.
Putin, who has ruled Russia since 1999, will face a handful of token opponents at the ballot box.
One of these is Ksenia Sobchak, a former socialite turned liberal TV presenter who many suspect is running as Kremlin “spoiler” candidate to split the opposition and boost interest in the polls.
Sobchak, whose father was Putin’s political mentor and who is rumoured to be the president’s goddaughter, will be at Thursday’s event as a journalist for opposition channel Dozhd and is expected to be allowed to ask a question.
Putin’s main challenge will be to convince Russians to vote at all in an election in which he is widely expected to win. According to Levada, only 28 percent of Russians said they were certain to vote in March.
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would pay proper attention to the development of its army and navy, but it would not be dragged into a new arms race with the United States.
Putin, speaking at a year-end news conference, also said that Russia would not back out of its commitment to concluding a START III Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with the United States, despite what he said was Washington’s wavering on arms control treaties.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia is concerned about the U.S. considering a pullout from key nuclear arms control pacts, adding that Moscow will stick to them.
Speaking at his annual news conference, Putin said that Russia will “ensure its security without entering an arms race.” He said Russia’s military spending next year will amount to 2.8 trillion rubles (about $46 billion) compared to the Pentagon’s budget of about $700 billion.
Putin said that Russia is particularly worried about what he described as perceived U.S. violations of the INF Treaty, a Cold-War era pact banning intermediate range missiles. The U.S. has accused Russia of pact violations – charges that Russia has denied. Putin said the U.S. accusations are part of a “propaganda” campaign to pave the way for the U.S. withdrawal.
Analysts said the event would give a clearer idea of what to expect from Putin ahead of an election in which he is widely expected to extend his rule to 2024, making him the country’s longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin.
“It will be the start of the election campaign: he will have to demonstrate the result of his work and make election promises,” Russian political analyst Konstantin Kalachev told AFP.
According to a survey published by independent pollster Levada on Wednesday, 75 percent of Russians would be prepared to vote for Putin in March, despite having yet to hear any campaign pledges since he announced his candidacy last week.
Putin, who has ruled Russia since 1999, will face a handful of token opponents at the ballot box.
One of these is Ksenia Sobchak, a former socialite turned liberal TV presenter who many suspect is running as Kremlin “spoiler” candidate to split the opposition and boost interest in the polls.
Sobchak, whose father was Putin’s political mentor and who is rumoured to be the president’s goddaughter, will be at Thursday’s event as a journalist for opposition channel Dozhd and is expected to be allowed to ask a question.
Putin’s main challenge will be to convince Russians to vote at all in an election in which he is widely expected to win. According to Levada, only 28 percent of Russians said they were certain to vote in March.
