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Medvedev: Russia to reinforce army, navy in 2011

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-17 21:36

MOSCOW - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that the armed forces will undergo comprehensive rearmament since 2011, local media reported.

"Comprehensive rearmament of the Russian army and Navy will begin in 2011," Interfax quoted Medvedev as saying at a meeting of the Defense Ministry.

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev speaks during an annual meeting with the Defence Ministry's staff in Moscow, March 17, 2009. [Agencies]

The head of state said that conflicts in some regions of the world and the expansion of NATO required Russia to speed up the modernization of its troops, especially nuclear forces.

"An analysis of the military-political situation in the world shows that there is significant conflict potential in a number of regions. Threats fraught with local crises and international terrorism remain in place," he said, noting that "the attempts to enlarge NATO's military infrastructure are not ceasing."

"All this calls for qualitatively modernizing our armed forces and reshaping their image," he said.

He also said that the Russian Security Council will endorse a national security strategy for the period up to 2020.

A number of problems have been revealed through the conflict in August 2008 between Russia and Georgia, said Medvedev, and he demanded immediate solutions to those problems.

"The conflict uncovered our shortcomings," he said, "It is obvious that problems related to the provision of certain types of weapons and means of communication are well known and call for immediate response."

The president also believed that the number of military exercises conducted by the Russian Armed Forces are not sufficient, and "no expense should be spared for that."

Despite all the problems encountered amid a financially and economically hard time, Medvedev felt certain that Russia has unique potential to create highly effective troops, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

The president in particular laid emphasis on the importance of transition to permanent combat readiness units and the purchase of new hardware.

Speaking of improvement of the servicemen's welfare, Medvedev said that Russian Defense Ministry will buy more than 40,000 flats for servicemen in 2009.

"State authorities will index the remuneration, build new houses and develop military townships with due account of economic possibilities," he said.

On the same day, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said that the Collective Security Treaty Organization's rapid reaction forces (CRRF) are expected to have their first exercise in Kazakhstan in September.