MOSCOW, December 9 (Sputnik) — Russia will not get drawn into a costly arms race but will make decisive steps to ensure its national security and defense capability, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an exclusive interview with RIA Novosti.
“President Vladimir Putin stressed in his [recent] address to the parliament that continuing and determined efforts to deploy the US global missile shield, including in Europe, pose a real threat not only to Russia but the whole world because it could harm the strategic balance of forces,” Lavrov said.
“Russia will not get drawn into a costly arms race… but we have to warn [the West] that at a certain stage of US missile shield deployment we will have to take adequate measures to ensure our national security,” Lavrov said.
During his annual address to the Federal Assembly in December, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that although Russia will not get involved in a costly arms race, the country has at its disposal innovative solutions to defend itself and is ready to apply those if needed.
In October, Putin stated that because global security has been seriously weakened the world is going through a very difficult period. The Russian leader accused the United States of aggravating the imbalance of power following the end of the Cold War.
In September, speaking at a meeting to discuss Russia's arms procurement program for 2016-2025, Putin also stressed the development of high-precision weaponry in the country. The president added that Russia's security measures are purely defensive and that Moscow has no plans to join or create a new arms race.
