MOSCOW, June 28 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian president said the major objectives facing Russia's Armed Forces today were re-equipping the Army, and adopting a modern approach to logistic support, reconnaissance, and communications. "We must outline clear development priorities for the Armed Forces and other security agencies," Vladimir Putin said at a session of the Security Council. Putin said Russia's security bodies had to heed the changing global environment, new challenges and threats.
The president said that nature of such threats as international terrorism, drug trafficking, industrial accidents, social and ethnic conflicts in neighboring regions had to be analyzed thoroughly. "Russia has not resolved those problems either," he said.
"We must 'keep the power dry' to address other problems on a global scale. Let us not forget that," said Putin.
The Russian Armed Forces have tackled tactical issues and stabilized the situation, but now they have to start building on all those components.
"Our objective today is to move to the phase of building on all the components of the military structure, to development based on genuinely long-term strategies," Putin said.
The president also urged members of the Security Council to work faster to solve the military's social problems.
"We need a completely new approach to ensuring social guarantees for military and civilian personnel," Putin said.
