Putin: Russia will strengthen its nuclear deterrence potential
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
AP
MOSCOW – Russia will continue bolstering its nuclear deterrence potential, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said.
“We should not make anyone yielded to temptation by our weakness. That is why under no circumstances will we give up the strategic deterrence potential, but will strengthen it,” Putin said in his new article entitled, ‘Being Strong: Russia’s National Security Guarantees,’ published in the Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper on Monday.
Ongoing global transformation bears unpredictable risks, he said. “In the conditions of global economics and other turbulence there is temptation to solve one’s problems at the expense of others, through force and pressure. It is not accidental that today it can be heard that issue that national sovereignty should not cover global resources will ‘objectively’ arise in the near future. There must be no such, even theoretical, possibility with respect to Russia,” he said.
Russia will not be able to strengthen its international positions, develop its economy and democratic institutions, if it fails to defend itself, he said. This requires calculating risks of possible conflicts, ensuring military and technological independence and preparing “a decent and adequate military response as an extreme means of reacting to a challenge,” Putin said.
More regional and local wars have erupted and new zones of instability and artificial chaos have emerged in the present-day world, he said. “Targeted attempts to provoke such conflicts in the vicinity of the borders of Russia and its allies can be traced. Russia in such conditions cannot rely only on diplomatic and economic means to resolve differences and conflicts. Our country faces the task of developing military potential as part of the deterrence strategy sufficient to defend itself,” Putin said.
The armed forces, special services and other law enforcement agencies must be prepared for a quick and efficient response to new challenges. “This is a perquisite for Russia’s security and for explaining our reasons in various international formats,” he said.
Guaranteeing dynamic development of the armed forces, the nuclear, space and defense industry, and military education will remain Russia’s priority, he said.
“Together with our allies we must strengthen possibilities of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, including Collective Operative Reaction Forces. The CSTO is ready to accomplish the mission of guaranteeing security in the Eurasian space,” Putin said.