Official website of the President of Russia

News   /

This was the President’s second visit to the Defence Ministry in the past six months, during which he discussed strategically important issues of the Armed Forces with a few of the top brass. As well as Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov and Chief of Staff General of the Army Anatoly Kvashnin, the meeting was attended by deputy ministers and the commanders-in-chief and commanders of services and service branches.

President Putin said it was necessary to respond swiftly to the latest changes in the country and to serious geopolitical developments. He said it was necessary to know precisely what was happening and what needed to be done to adjust military planning.

He thought it had been right to start regular meetings between the head of state and the top executives of the Defence Ministry. He explained that today’s meeting was precipitated by the need to prepare and implement the conceptual documents recently drafted. Among them were an armaments programme up to 2010, a plan to build up the Armed Forces until 2005, and an armaments programme for 2002.

The President also raised an issue of great importance – the social wellbeing of military personnel.

Since the issues of military planning were discussed in the absence of leading specialists from industry and science, the President said he planned a broader meeting to take up the subject again.