12 January 2017•Update: 13 January 2017
By Elena Teslova
MOSCOW
Russia's main objective is to preserve the current level of its military security, and it will not get involved in a new arms race, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said Thursday.
The minister's comments came during a lecture for top ministry officials and public representatives.
"I want to emphasize that we do not intend to be drawn into a new arms race," Shoigu was quoted as saying by the country’s official TASS news agency.
The minister reportedly said that the deterrent role of nuclear weapons may in time be replaced by non-nuclear ones, which would reduce international tensions.
This shift can be achieved through "high-precision weapons," he said, adding Moscow's strategic non-nuclear forces would increase fourfold by 2021.
On Dec. 23, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would continue to enhance its armed forces. He also said: "We will never join in an arms race."
*Diyar Guldogan contributed to this report from Ankara.
