Today the Armed Forces are fully capable of ensuring strategic deterrence and actively engaging in peace-making activities, Vladimir Putin noted a meeting of the Russian Armed Forces’ command staff. The Russian Army and Navy are once again finding strength and self-confidence.
Along with this the head of state pointed out the need to execute plans to establish fundamentally new systems of strategic weapons. Close attention should be given to the technical reequipment of general purpose forces.
The President also noted the importance of ensuring social and material guarantees for servicemen. In view of the already fact that the planned increase in servicemen’s incomes will grow in real terms by one and half times by the end of 2008, then all servicemen who concluded a contract before 1 January 1998 should receive housing before 2010.
The head of state emphasized that the large-scale resources designed to modernize and develop the Russian Armed Forces should be spent judiciously, should produce adequate outcomes, and result in a qualitative improvement in the level of preparedness of the Armed Forces.