Speaking at a meeting after the strategic operations exercise Caucasus 2009, the President recalled that one of Russia's priorities in the National Security Strategy through to 2020 adopted in May 2009 is to modernise the army and navy.
The challenge is to create in the next few years the Armed Forces that are mobile, efficient, equipped with the latest technology and prepared to meet contemporary threats. The major efforts in creating Armed Forces of new type should be completed by December 1, 2009, Dmitry Medvedev announced.
The President noted that one of the factors that can ensure the combat capacity of the military is holding regular exercises: they make it possible to test the ability of the Armed Forces to operate efficiently, to coordinate their efforts and to repel potential aggression in any area.
Mr Medvedev praised the results of the Caucasus 2009 strategic exercise, which was designed to coordinate the functioning of the unified management system which involved various military units deployed in the region.
During a visit to Novorossiysk, Dmitry Medvedev visited the airborne troops training ground at Rayevskaya settlement, toured the Moskva cruiser, and also examined the progress that has been made in building a new base for the ships of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Novorossiysk Bay.