President Vladimir Putin:
Good Day, dear colleagues. As you know, yesterday the “Mobility-2004” training exercises were held. And I must say that the preparation of these exercises was at a high level, and they were conducted well, with excellent organisation and good results.
The second important military component in the Far East is the fleet. Here – and at any rate military specialists know this – there were enormous problems several years ago! There were various plans about the future of the fleet in the Far East.
I can say that there are also problems today, but one thing is clear: the situation in the fleet has stabilized, and not only that – the fleet has begun to develop. The Defence Ministry, the General Staff, and the political leadership of the country all understand how the fleet in the Far East needs to be developed. There are appropriate plans on this, and they will be carried out. All the components of the fleet, the nuclear deterrence forces, everything that is connected with its functioning and service, and the ordinary fleet, so to speak – all these units will develop in the Far East. And we will support this. The fleet in the Far East is one of the most important components of state security.