Putin urges enhancement of Russian army's combat capability

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, February 23, 2004

Putin urges enhancement of Russian army's combat capability

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday stressed the need to improve the Russian army's combat capability to ensure national security.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday stressed the need to improve the Russian army's combat capability to ensure national security.

Speaking on the eve of Russia's Fatherland Defender's Day, Putin said Russia is reinforcing and upgrading the armed forces, particularly the strategic forces, to "reliably defend the country," the Interfax news agency reported.

Putin said lasting national security is a fundamental condition for people's peaceful and constructive life and a key element of domestic development.

At a meeting in the Kremlin to mark the festival, known as the Army Day in Soviet times, the president called on the army to prepare itself to confront any threat "ranging from an act of terrorism or local conflict to a major aggression."

However, he promised that Russia "does not have and cannot have aggressive objectives of imperial ambitions."

"Russia's defense potential was and remains a composite part of international security, and historically Russia bears special responsibilities for global stability and security throughout the enormous Eurasian continent," Putin said.

After inspection tours during Russia's latest large-scale military exercise, Putin said, "Combat-capable army and navy are an crucial factor of national security."

He instructed the military to be mobile, truly professional and upgraded with new-generation weaponry to meet modern demands.

Experts said the maneuver reflected the resurrection of the Russian military amid NATO's eastward expansion and the changing world situation by showing that Russia is not only strong in its military strength but is also a big nuclear power.

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